Team Japan Shines in Steamboat: Ogiwara Wins Men’s Big Air, Onitsuka Secures Crystal Globe

At the final Big Air World Cup event of the 2025/26 season in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Japanese snowboarders put on a commanding performance, highlighted by Hiroto Ogiwara’s victory in the men’s competition and Miyabi Onitsuka clinching the women’s Crystal Globe.

Onitsuka, was the first to secure gold on Saturday, delivering her first World Cup win since 2019. The seasoned rider, wearing the yellow bib as the current Cup leader, opened her final with a clean backside double cork 1080 mute.

“I can’t believe it. I spent a lot of time on the cab 12, so I’m happy,” – Miyabi Onitsuka

Despite challenges from younger competitors, including Australia’s Ally Hickman and South Korea’s Seungeun Yu, Onitsuka sealed the victory with a switch frontside 1260 mute on her final attempt. Her total proved enough to top the podium and earn her 205 points on the season, securing the Big Air Crystal Globe.

For Hickman, this marked a career-first World Cup podium in just her eighth outing, while Yu also achieved her best result to date. U.S. snowboarding icon Jamie Anderson, returning from retirement, placed sixth in the women’s final.

Ogiwara Delivers for Japan in the Men’s Final

In the men’s final, Japan nearly swept the podium. Twenty-year-old Hiroto Ogiwara led the field with a spectacular backside 1980 tailgrab, a trick not previously landed in competition.

Ogiwara’s win is his first World Cup victory of the season and builds on his momentum after landing the first-ever 2340 in competition earlier in the year at the X Games.

Teammate Kira Kimura narrowly missed out on the win, finishing just one point behind Ogiwara. The result meant Kimura fell short in his bid to overtake China’s Su Yiming for the men’s Big Air Crystal Globe. Ultimately, Su’s two wins earlier in the season gave him enough points to secure the title despite not competing in Steamboat.

American rising star Oliver Martin rounded out the podium in third, his first World Cup podium of the season, with a frontside triple cork 1620 mute pullback that impressed judges and helped him secure a top-three finish.

Sixteen-year-old Yuto Kimura, competing only in his second World Cup event, also turned heads with a frontside 1980 frontside grab in qualification, showcasing the depth of Japan’s young talent.

Looking Ahead

With Steamboat wrapped, slopestyle World Cups in Aspen (USA) and Laax (SUI) in January represent the final major chances for riders to secure Olympic qualification ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games.