Snowboard Stars Fukada, Murase Finish 1-3 in the Women's Slopestyle

Mari Fukada delivered her best performance of the night in her final run in the women's snowboard slopestyle final on Wednesday, February 18.

It was the top highlight of another banner night for Japan's snowboarders at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

After receiving 33.98 points and 85.70 points on her first two runs, Fukada produced a gold medal-clinching effort on her last run in Livigno, Italy. The 19-year-old impressed the judges on her three jumps and the overall fluidity of her ride. It added up to 87.83 points, giving Fukada a narrow victory over New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski Synnott (87.48).

Also for Japan, Kokomo Murase, who won the women's big air title on February 9, placed third (85.80 points).

In winning the gold, Fukada demonstrated her strong aerial skills, including a well-executed backside 1260 mute grab for which she received a perfect 10.0 points. This involved spinning three-and-a-half backward rotations. The "mute grab" references the snowboarder grabbing "the toe-side edge of the board between the bindings," NBC Sports explained in a snowboard glossary posted on its website.

Snowboard — *Mari Fukada performs her first run in the women's snowboard slopestyle final. (©Gonzalo Fuentes/REUTERS)*

Fukada's sharp concentration, including on the rails, also helped carry her to the top.

"The rails were long, so it was difficult to do everything," Fukada told reporters. "But I'm glad I was able to do it cleanly until the end."

Like Fukada and Sadowski Synnott, Murase had her highest-scoring run on her final go-round at Livigno Snow Park.

Three-time Olympian Reira Iwabuchi, another Japanese entrant, placed eighth (52.11).

Fukada Reacts to Olympic Triumph

After the slopestyle final concluded, Fukada spoke about how she felt shocked by what had happened.

"I still can't believe it at all," Fukada said during a TV interview, Sports Nippon reported. "It was a moment when I truly felt from the bottom of my heart that it was worth it to have come this far, that it was worth it to have kept snowboarding."

Placing ninth in the big air event a week earlier increased Fukada's motivation to succeed in the slopestyle competition.

"I was really frustrated that I didn't get a result, but I switched my mindset thinking, 'I still have slopestyle,' " Fukada was quoted as saying by Sports Nippon. "People around me kept saying, 'Mari can do it,' and I think that really gave me the confidence to pull it off."

In the 2025-26 FIS Snowboard World Cup season, Fukada is ranked No 2 in women's slopestyle. Murase is the top-ranked athlete.

Su Places Ahead of Hasegawa in Men's Slopestyle

China's Yiming Su set the tone for the men's snowboard slopestyle title chase in the early going. He had the highest score among the 12 finalists in the first round (82.41) en route to winning the gold medal on his 22nd birthday. The Olympian also claimed the bronze in the men's big air event in Livigno.

For Japan, Taiga Hasegawa also had his top score on his first run (82.13). On his next two attempts to increase his point total, Hasegawa, 20, was unsuccessful. He slipped to 69.05 on his second run, then fell to 22.30 on his final try.

Hasegawa finished second, picking up Japan's 20th medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics.

"I'm glad I kept pushing myself," Hasegawa said, according to Jiji Press, before adding, "I'm happy so many people got to see this [rewarding] moment."

Jake Canter of the United States placed third with 79.36 points.

Ryoma Kimata, Japan's big air silver medalist, finished 11th (72.80 points).

Comprehensive Success for Japan in Snowboard Events

At the ongoing Olympics, Japan has now amassed 22 medals, its best-ever total in a Winter Games. This includes five gold medals, four of which were earned in snowboard events.

Team Japan's Olympians have collected a total of nine medals in snowboarding, placing in the top three in every event to date.