Despite the snowy weather which mirrored the conditions at last season’s Burton US Open slopestyle finals, it was another breathtaking display of snowboarding on March 7th 2014, with Mark McMorris and Jamie Anderson securing shiny new US Open gold medals to add to their recent Olympic ones.
Click through at the top or bottom of the page to watch all of the winning runs
Thanks to an extra fast course, that was specially built with the foresight that the weather might be snowy on the day, speed was not an issue during slopestyle finals.
Once again in the ladies competition we were treated to an intense display of slow, super stylish spins which are always a nice change of pace from the spin to win huckfest we’ve become accustomed to in the men’s slopestyle comps of 2014.
As many would have predicted, it was Jamie Anderson who was again by far and away the cleanest and most technical rider on the day. She got down to business on her second run, putting down a gap to boardslide, 50-50 to frontside boardslide, 50-50 to backside 180 tailtap out in the rail section, and a Cab 720 nose grab, switch backside 540 indy, and frontside 720 mute grab on the jumps, which scored an 87.55.
Spencer O’Brien was snapping at Jamie’s heels for the duration of the three run finals, but couldn’t quite do enough to topple the undisputed slopestyle queen. Her frontside 720 off the toes was a thing of beauty though. Switzerland’s Isabel Derungs, who took the Burton European Open title this season did enough for a third place finish.
Understandably, Jamie was pretty hyped on both her win, and the event in general:
I love that Burton has created a stage for us to really show what snowboarders are capable of. To have it open to all riders to get involved in is definitely huge and something that I wish more events incorporated. I love the Rockies and Vail, and being here supporting the Open is so fun.
Jamie’s win was her fourth US Open slopestyle title, the most in female history, ever and she also became the 2014 World Snowboard Tour Slopestyle Champion in the process – which is the third time she has achieved that feat. Silje Norendal was the main challenger to the World Snowboard Tour slopestyle title but was absent from the US Open, leaving the door wide open for Jamie.
After going into the Olympics last month as a definite favourite but walking away with a bronze medal, Mark was visibly stoked to be back on top here:
To end my season at an event by snowboarders for snowboarders with back-to-back wins is really cool. There’s no bobsled team or figure skating team at the Open – it’s just a bunch of snowboarders who all share the same love for riding. And it’s really cool for me to end my season at such a legendary event.
But even though Mark bossed it, it was certainly wasn’t a stroll in the park for him, with Norway’s Ståle Sandbech looking hungry for gold. However, Ståle wasn’t quite able to top Mark’s score on his second and third runs, despite throwing down an absolute blinder on the former run, which included one of the sickest cab 12 stales we’ve ever seen and a backside triple to finish up. He finished just 0.3 points behind McMorris with an 87.20.
Max Parrot finished up in third place with a run that was bizarrely almost hit for hit identical to Canadian teammate Mark McMorris’. He scored an 84.30 and had us wondering just how competitive those two just might be…
All told, as a contest by snowboarders, for snowboarders, the slopestyle finals at the 32nd Burton US Open were another massive success, showcasing some of the very best slopestyle snowboarding that the top riders in the world have to offer. It was amazing to see some fresh new creativity creeping back into runs with dudes like Brandon Davis throwing the mirror version of Sage’s Holy Crail grab on his first front 720, while maintaining the high level of technicality that we’ve become so used to over the last few years.
Women’s Slopestyle Finals Results:
1. Jamie Anderson (USA), BILLABONG, 87.55
2. Spencer O’Brien (CAN), NIKE, 80.00
3. Isabel Derungs (SUI), RIDE, 71.90
4. Miyabi Onitsuka (JPN), BURTON, 43.20
5. Ty Walker (USA), RED BULL, 33.95
6. Cheryl Maas (NED), VOLCOM, 30.50
Men’s Slopesyle Finals Results:
1. Mark McMorris (CAN), BURTON, 87.50
2. Stale Sandbech (NOR), OAKLEY, 87.20
3. Maxence Parrot (CAN), ONEILL, 84.30
4. Sebastien Toutant (CAN), ONEILL, 83.35
5. Roope Tonteri (FIN), BURTON, 81.70
6. Darcy Sharpe (CAN), MONSTER ENERGY, 78.05
7. Tyler Nicholson (CAN), LIB TECH, 72.60
8. Emil Ulsletten (NOR), NITRO, 60.95
9. Brandon Davis (USA), NEFF, 38.55
10. Kyle Mack (USA), BURTON, DNS
Click through to watch all of the winning runs:
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