Mark today’s date down. It’s the first time two Australian snowboarders have gone one-two on the snowboard FIS World Cup podium.
Scotty James and Valentino Guseli took gold and silver in the Laax Open in Switzerland this morning in front of a crowd of thousands.
James best score in the two run-final came in his first run, where he scored 94 points to record the ninth World Cup win of his impressive career and third victory in the Laax Open halfpipe.
Guseli scored 90 points on his first run, and then in the final round stepped it up performing a trick that had never been landed in competition, stomping a frontside 1620 tailgrab to score 92.25 points and finish in second place.
A little scrub in the landing of that trick likely cost him a chance at victory, Guseli’s score of would give him his first Laax Open podium of his career.
Third place for the men was last season’s Laax Open winner Ruka Hirano of Japan, who stepped things up big time in his second and final run, joining the evenings 90-point club with a score of 90.00 exactly on his way to his 14th career World Cup podium in his 20th career start.