Miyabi Onitsuka (third-year School of Sport Sciences student, affiliated with Hoshino Resort) has emerged victorious at X Games Aspen 2020 Snowboard Big Air event. The extreme sports contest was held on January 24, 2020 in Aspen, Colorado.
Big air focuses on jumping technique and landing methods and has been an Olympic event since the PyeongChang 2018 winter Olympics. During the finals each participant is provided with three attempts, with points awarded for direction of rotation. The points from the two top scoring attempts are combined for the final total.
This year’s event included some tough competition in the form of PyeongChang 2018 gold medalist Anna Gasser (Austria) and silver medalist Jamie Anderson (United States). Despite this, the winners’ podium was dominated by three Japanese participants, including Ms. Onitsuka.
Ms. Onitsuka began with a frontside 1080 (a jump taken from the heel edge, involving three horizontal rotations). She followed this with a bold backside double cork 1080 (a jump taken from the toe edge involving three horizontal and two vertical rotations). Onitsuka then attempted a backside double cork 1260 for the first time (a jump taken from the toe edge involving 3.5 horizontal and two vertical rotations). Her perfect technique ensured her position in first place.
We hope that everyone will keep cheering her on as she takes on the world.
Miyabi Onitsuka looking at her ranking after completing her run = Aspen, Colorado, United States (Kyodo News Service)
The winners’ podium for snowboard big air was dominated by Japanese contestants Miyabi Onitsuka (center), Kokomo Murase (left), and Reira Iwabuchi = Aspen, Colorado, United States (Kyodo News Service)
*Extreme sports: A form of athletics where appoints are awarded for speed, height, and technique. Includes BMX, skateboarding, etc.
*X Games = The world’s most preeminent extreme sports contest. Includes a variety of categories. The X Games are held in summer and winter.
