Mia Brookes produced an incredible display of big air snowboarding in Klagenfurt on Sunday to seal back-to-back World Cup victories. The 17-year-old Briton, sitting in third spot after her first jump, was able with her second and third runs to leap above Japan’s Mari Fukada into the gold medal position.
Brookes, who became the youngest ever snowboard world champion in slopestyle in 2023, clinched victory after claiming the best run score of the day with her final attempt (95.75), mirroring what happened in Beijing last month.
She finished with a total score of 184.25 – two points clear of Fukada, whose compatriot Momo Suzuki was third with 166.75. Brookes, who is two days older than Luke Littler, said: “I’m so hyped to win this competition! It doesn’t even feel real to know I’ve just gone back to back. It’s crazy!”
Ben Kinnear, GB’s freestyle snowboard coach, said: “That’s two in a row! Scaffold jumps aren’t easy, Mia’s approach this week is of the seasoned pro, making her tricks fit this tricky man-made structure is no mean feat. Great finals, such a competitive field and women’s snowboarding right now is in an incredible place – Mia’s a big part of that”
Meanwhile, Great Britain also won gold in the four-man bobsleigh at the IBSF World Cup in Winterberg, Germany. The team of Brad Hall, Taylor Lawrence, Arran Gulliver and Greg Cackett won with a combined time of one minute 48.07sec from their two runs, beating Germany by just under two-tenths of a second.
“To finish in first place here is incredible,” Hall told the BBC. “It’s been a very long time since anyone other than the Germans have won here. We’re extremely happy and we’re now hoping this is a stepping stone to being on top of the podium a few more times this season before we hit the world championships in March.”
