A threat in the U.S. and overseas, Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) captured her third World Cup halfpipe victory Sunday with a 37.9 point run despite slow pipe conditions due to wet snow. It was her second win at the Japan event in two years and her second victory on the season after winning the Sept. World Cup opener in Valle Nevado, Chile.

"It was snowing super hard, but it was the wet stuff that still feels like rain when it hits you, so you had to really work the transition," said Teter, who left for Japan just after winning the overall Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix title. "It always feels good to get a victory and it's cool when I can show up and a World Cup and still do well, since we don't get to make it to many of them."

Fellow U.S. Snowboarding rider Lindsey Jacobellis (Bondville, VT), who finished second in Valle Nevado, was fourth behind local Soko Yamaoka and Bright of Australia. On the men's side 2004 X Games champ Steve Fisher led the U.S. men with sixth behind a stacked field that included winner and World Cup leader Antti Autti of Finland along with teammate Risto Mattila, who finished second.

"This was a world class field, there's no doubt about that," said U.S. Snowboarding Head Halfpipe Coach Bud Keene. "The Finns, the Germans, the Swedes - they're all solid and these are the riders that we're going to see in the Olympics, so it was a good experience for us. Luckily there are strong competitive series, like the Grand Prix, already in place in the U.S., so we don't have to travel overseas much, but when we do, we're prepared."

The Japan event was about adjusting back to the FIS style of judging as the panel focuses on precision and amplitude more than technical riding. According to Keene, Teter won with a run that included a frontside 540 and a backside 360 that were 2-3 feet higher than any other rider, but in a national event, her 540 would have been a 900 and she would have gone for a McTwist as well.

"Our riders are used to throwing down technical runs, so this was an adjustment. Fisher did his stock run, qualified well and was on his way to the podium, but he sketched the slightest bit on his second run of finals and it knocked him out. The conditions were also the toughest we've seen all year and it was really hard to keep your speed in the pipe. Luckily Franklin our Swix wax tech dialed it in and had our riders flying," said Keene.

Other U.S. Snowboarding riders getting some frequent flyer miles were Mason Aguirre (Duluth, MN), who finished 14th along with Chris Nelson (Mammoth Lakes, CA) and Tommy Czeschin (Mammoth Lakes, CA), who were 19th and 21st respectively. Thirteen-year-old Luke Mitrani (Stratton, VT) also received his first World Cup start, finishing 42nd. The U.S. will get one more World Cup start in Japan next weekend with Feb. 28 halfpipe slated for Niigata Joetsu-kokusai.

FIS SNOWBOARD WORLD CUP
Women's Halfpipe

1. Hannah Teter, Belmont, Vt., 37.9
2. Solo Yamaoka, Japan, 36.8
3. Torah Bright, Australia, 36.2
4. Lindsey Jacobellis, Bondville, Vt. 33.7
5. Fabienne Reuteler, Switzerland, 30.8

Men's Halfpipe

1. Antti Autti, Finland, 44.3
2. Risto Mattila, Finland, 43.9
3. Xaver Hoffman, Germany, 42.5
4. Christopher Schmidt, Germany, 39.9
5. Kazuhiro Kokubo, Japan, 38.9

6. Steve Fisher, St. Louis Park, Minn., 38.7
14. Mason Aguirre, Duluth, Minn., 34.6
19. Chris Nelson, Mammoth Lakes, Calif., 32.8
21. Tommy Czeschin, Mammoth Lakes, Calif. 31.8
42. Luke Mitrani, Stratton, Vt., 20.1

— Courtesy, US Snowboard Team