Australian snowboarder Ben Mates has finished in ninth position in the qualification heats of the men’s halfpipe today at Cypress Mountain.

Mates produced two clean runs to score a 28.3 and 29.6, the better of the two scores ensuring the 26-year-old a spot in the semi-final.

“I’m stoked,” Mates said coming off his second run. “My second run was definitely better and I think I can go a lot bigger and have a cleaner run in the semi-finals.

“I guess with my run I don’t have the most technical run but I try and make up for that with my amplitude in my tricks.”

Mates has every right to be pleased with his efforts on the Cypress pipe, his semi-final berth meaning sweet redemption from his horror run in Turin four years ago.

“It was super disappointing in Turin,” Mates said.

“I was ready but I just didn’t put down runs in Turin, but I’ve prepared so hard for today to make sure I’m ready and make sure that I’m consistent so I wanted to be ready up the top and put down two runs and I did that.”

Despite the near perfect condition of the pipe which has suffered from unseasonably bad weather, a number of riders hit the deck whilst trying to pull off some of their tricks.

With this in mind, Mates is tight-lipped about any extra tricks he might have for the semi-final round and instead is just focused on posting more clean runs.

“I stayed on my feet and I got through so I’m just going try and do the same thing,” Mates said.

The US superhero of the halfpipe, Shaun White, produced a near flawless first run with huge air and complicated tricks, delighting the rowdy fans.

Whilst he could not replicate his success in the second run, his initial score of 45.8 was enough to place him as clear leader of the top three riders progressing directly to the final round.

“Forty-five out of 50 isn’t bad,” White said. “The run after was a throwaway one.

“The qualifiers are a strange limbo. We practice for finals every single day. This was almost more nerve wracking.”

The next group of 20 riders are currently preparing for their qualification runs, with Aussie youngster Scott James set to make his Olympic debut.

Alice Wheeler
AOC – Cypress Mountain