Ogiwara, Brookes triumph at FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup in Beijing

BEIJING -- Teenage skiers Hiroto Ogiwara of Japan and Britain's Mia Brookes claimed the men's and women's snowboard big air titles respectively at the FIS World Cup in Beijing on Sunday.

19-year-old Ogiwara clinched the victory with 169.50 points, four points ahead of the runner-up Ian Matteoli of Italy, while Yang Wenlong of China finished third to reach the podium for the first time in a World Cup.

Matteoli amazed the crowd after completing a full 2160 rotation in the fist run - the most difficult trick in the big air - to score an impressive 97.75 points. However, the Italian failed to maintain the momentum in the last two runs and ranked second at the end.

Yang, 25, who took the first place in the men's qualification heat 1 on Saturday, felt delighted to perform his best at home. "I tried to be stable in every run and concentrated on each trick. I still need to train hard and prepare for the Asian Winter Games next year and the 2026 Winter Olympics."

Beijing Winter Olympic champion Su Yiming of China crushed in his first two runs and finished in last place in the final.

In the women's snowboard big air, 17-year-old Brookes finished top with 179.75 points, followed by Mari Fukada of Japan and Austrian veteran Anna Gasser in the second and third.

Earlier on Sunday, Tormod Frostad of Norway and French skier Tess Ledeux were crowned in the men's and women's freeski big air at Shougang of Beijing.