Snowboarder Chaewoon Lee, first individual medal in World Cup halfpipe took 3rd place

Chaewoon Lee (Surigo) won a bronze medal in the men's halfpipe at the International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard World Cup.

Chaewoon Lee ranked third with 87.50 points in the men's halfpipe finals of the 2023-2024 FIS Snowboard World Cup held in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China on the 8th.

Scotty James (Australia) won the gold medal with 91.25 points, and Ruka Hirano (Japan) won the silver medal with 88.25 points.

Lee Chae-un, born in 2006 and the youngest member of the Korean team at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, won the snowboard men's halfpipe final at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships held in Bakuriani, Georgia in March this year. It was Korea's first world championship gold medal in skiing and snowboarding history.

Previously, the best result at the FIS World Cup was 4th place in the U.S. and Canada competition in February of this year, and this was the first time she stood on the podium.

An official from the Korea Ski Association said, “Lee Chae-woon used the triple cock frontside 1440 degree technique in the third period, spinning four times in the air. He explained, “This is a technique that I have perfected through practice, and this is the first time I have tried it in a competition.”

Lee Chae-woon is also expected to win a gold medal at the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics to be held in January next year.

Snowboard halfpipe is a sport that involves aerial performances such as turns and jumps on an inclined semi-cylindrical slope. Six judges score, and the scores are averaged excluding the highest and lowest scores, and the highest score during the 1st to 3rd periods becomes the final score.

James, who won this competition, is the athlete who won the halfpipe silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Hirano, who ranked second, is a gold medalist in this event at the 2020 Lausanne Winter Youth Olympics.

Ayumu Hirano (Japan), gold medalist at the Beijing Winter Olympics, ranked 9th with only 50.75 points. slotplayground.com