He's looking for happy landings

Mixing thrills with the chill

The Air and Style snowboarding competition in Beijing helps raise the profile of winter sports in China while thrilling fans with spectacular aerial stunts.

Energized by live rock music at the iconic Bird's Nest stadium, 16 elite riders from around the world performed some high-flying tricks off a 46-meter ramp in Saturday's final of Air and Style Beijing, a World Snowboard Tour six-star event.

Nailing two perfect tricks featuring multiple flips in the three-jump final round, Canadian Maxance Parrot claimed the title and collected the champion's purse of $100,000 as well as 1,000 WST ranking points. His compatriot, Mark McMorris, finished second while Sven Thorgren of Sweden placed third.

Japanese boarder Yuki Kadono, the only Asian to reach the final, landed a challenging backside triple cork 1620 mute, on his second run. The trick won over the judges andthe 19-year-old was awarded the Best Trick Award and $5,000 in prize money, presented by event sponsor Red Bull.

Introduced in Beijing in 2010, the event has played a positive role in demonstrating the Chinese capital's capacity to host international winter sports competitions, which helped convince the International Olympic Committee to award Beijing the 2022 Winter Games, said organizers.

"I am sure having this event over the last five years worked toward the Olympic decision. I know the IOC wants to see an event here ... to have a competition right in the middle of town so you can create awareness of winter sports for people in the city," said Andrew Hourmont, founder of the Air and Style World Series.

"I think overall, the Olympics coming to China is a fantastic way for China to promote winter sports and healthy lifestyles to the next generation. I am happy to see it coming," Hourmont said.

Hai Zhenwen, director of Beijing Sports Competitions Administration Center, said the organizational experience gained through the event, especially expertise in building artificial snow slopes, will benefit the Winter Olympics operations in Beijing.

"It's like a rehearsal for something bigger ... to gain the experience and to work on technical details for the 2022 Olympics," said Hai.

Beijing has extended its partnership with Air and Style for another five editions, according to Hai.

Meanwhile, the energy inside the Bird's Nest, along with the boisterous crowd reaction, impressed the riders.

"The energy is really sick (good). I have been here so many times. This year we had a pretty good crowd. It was fun to be on top (of the ramp) and hear everybody cheer," said Parrot.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn