Southern snow stars Finley Melville Ives and Luke Harrold have created some New Zealand history in China.
The teenagers became the first two Kiwis to share a world cup podium in either freesking or snowboarding.
Wānaka 19-year-old Melville Ives, the reigning world champion, won the Secret Garden round of the freeski halfpipe world cup at the Genting Resort, while Lake Hāwea 17-year-old Harrold finished second.
“I honestly have no words,’’ Melville Ives said.
‘‘It was such tricky conditions today, everyone skied so well, and it was really gnarly. I honestly can’t believe it. Super surreal.”
It also forced the fashion-conscious freeskiers into some creative use of duct tape to streamline their traditionally baggy ski pants.
“I didn’t have the best training today,’’ Melville Ives said.
‘‘I had to swap my run with about 10 minutes left of training and ended up taping my pants to try and get more speed and skiing in a T-shirt even though it’s freezing.”
Fourteen men qualified for the two-run final, so the pressure was on to put down a top run right out of the start gate.
Melville Ives meant business, dropping in and putting down a huge first run with consistent amplitude, putting a 90-point score on the board, which remained the highest score of the day and was matched only by himself in his second run.
Harrold was the last athlete to drop into each run as the top qualifier into the final, and after the first run was sitting in second place on a score of 88, two points behind Melville Ives.
As the final athlete who could bump countryman Melville Ives off the top spot, Harrold gave it everything in his second run and upped his score to 89, but it was not enough to challenge
Melville Ives for the top step.
It was a second career world cup win for Melville Ives, his first coming in Canada in February.
It was Harrold’s second world cup podium, following his silver in China in 2023 when he was just 15.
It was a seventh consecutive big air world cup podium for Harrington.
His next major big air assignment is the invite-only X Games at Aspen at the end end of January, which will serve as preparing for the Winter Olympics in Italy.
“I will be making the most of every opportunity and pushing towards peaking for Milano Cortina, trying to stay healthy while pushing the limit,” Harrington said.
— Allied Media
