Jasmine Baird surpasses Canadian snowboarders with Big Air bronze medal in Switzerland
Snowboarder Jasmine Baird kicked off her World Cup season and her goal of representing Canada at the Beijing Olympics in February with a podium finish in Big Air on Saturday in Chur, Switzerland.
The 22-year-old from Georgetown, Ontario was the best Canadian overall in third place. Brooke Voigt of Fort McMurray, Alta., Finished fourth in the women while Regina’s Mark McMorris was fifth in the men.
Baird scored 148.75 points, just 1.25 behind silver medalist Anna Gasser from Austria. The Japanese Kokomo Murase collected 173.75 points in the first two of her three jumps and led the field of seven finishers.
It was the second Big Air World Cup medal for Baird, who narrowly defeated reigning Halaw Snowboard Invitational women champion Julia Marino from the USA in April 2019.
CLOCK | Baird takes podium at Big Air season opener:
Jasmine Baird from Georgetown, Ontario, scored 148.75 points and won a bronze medal at the World Cup Big Air event in Chur, Switzerland on Saturday. 3:35
Last March, Baird finished 22nd in the women’s slopestyle event at the World Championships in Aspen, Colo.
Voigt, who was 13th in slopestyle at world championships, was a distant fourth on Saturday with 96.25 points. The 27-year-old scored 42.75 on the first jump and 53.50 on the second.
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Voigt finished 17th at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in South Korea.
McMorris, 27, is the reigning men’s big air world champion but had big problems on his first two jumps on Saturday, combining 29.25 points before hitting 82.00 on his final attempt.
The Swiss Jonas Boesiger prevailed in front of his home crowd with 162.00 points, of which 88.75 points in his second jump.
Rene Rinnekangas (141.00) from Finland and the Swede Sven Thorgren (134.00) completed the podium.
McMorris, who scored 179.25 points on his way to his Big Air World Championship title in the spring, is a two-time slopestyle bronze medalist.
CLOCK | McMorris golden at Worlds in Aspen:
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Regina native Mark McMorris wins the men’s event at the Snowboard Big Air World Championships. 3:49
After an event in Arosa in 2003, the Chur competition is only the second Big Air World Cup in Switzerland.
The next World Cup stages in Big Air will take place on December 4th at the Steamboat Resort in Colorado.
