Kokomo Murase Qualifies 2nd for the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle Final

Kokomo Murase, winner of the women's snowboard big air gold medal on February 9, will attempt to capture her second title of the Milan Cortina Olympics on Tuesday night, February 17.

On Sunday, Murase finished second in snowboard slopestyle qualifying with 84.93 points in Livigno, Italy.

Also for Japan, Reira Iwabuchi was fourth in qualifying (73.65) and Mari Fukada was seventh (71.03).

The slopestyle final is set to start at 9 PM JST on Tuesday. Twelve women advanced to the final, including New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski Synnott, the reigning Olympic champion who had the top score in qualifying (88.08).

Murase finished 10th in this event, which includes jumps and riding on rails, at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Since then, she has had stronger results in major international competitions, including a second-place finish in snowboard slopestyle at the 2025 world championships in Switzerland. Murase is ranked No 1 in the event for the 2025-26 FIS Snowboard World Cup season. And she collected a win in a World Cup competition in Switzerland in January, just weeks before the start of the Milan Cortina Games.

Kokomo Murase Reflects on Slopestyle Qualifying

In Sunday's qualifying, Murase was pleased with the 84.93 points she received for her first run.

"I had a flawless first run, so I used the second run as practice for the final," the 21-year-old said, according to Kyodo News.

On her second run, she attempted a triple cork 1260 that didn't go as planned.

"I didn't have enough speed and ended up falling," Murase was quoted as saying by Sports Nippon. "That's something I need to work on for the final."

Looking ahead to Tuesday's competition, Murase noted that it'll be the culmination of an athletic mission.

"I've trained incredibly hard these past four years," Murase said, according to the sports publication. "So I plan to pour everything I've endured and suffered into this moment."