The "2024 TOYO TIRES FWT HAKUBA QUALIFIER 4*" was held under a clear, cloudless sky.
The following drivers stood on the podium in each category.
Men's skiing
1st place Nemo Plagne (FRA) 84.00 @nemo_plagne
2nd place Leo Drouet (FRA) 82.67 @leo_drouet
3rd place Gabin Siau (FRA) 80.67
Ski Women's
1st place Eva Battolla (CHE) 85.00 @evabattolla
2nd place Colleen Pernet (IRL) 81.33 @colleen_pernet
3rd place Jenna Keller (CHE) 74.33 @jenna_kelle.r
Snowboard men's
1st place Keijiro Oka (JPN) 89.00
2nd place Asato Yoshida (JPN) 88.67 @asato_yoshida
3rd place Rémi Benamo (CHE) 85.00 @remibenamo
Snowboard Women's
1st place: Sayaka Kato (JPN) 82.67 @sayaka_419
2nd place: Briony Johnson (AUS) 77.0 @brionymayjohnson
3rd place: Nina Higashio (JPN) 73.00 @nina.loves.snow
*Results for 4th place and below are listed below
The slope for the race is located at the entrance to the Alpine area from Happo-One Ski Resort. It is a slope known as the eastern shoulder of the so-called "Big Triangle." The slope faces northeast, starting at an elevation of 1,550m and finishing at an elevation of 1,200m, with an elevation difference of 350m and an average gradient of 38 degrees, making it a highly challenging race
Among the QUALIFIER events, this is the highest ranking, 4*. Moreover, as it is one of the few 4* competitions in the world, 61 talented athletes from Japan and overseas gathered. The largest number of participants was men's skiing, with 23, followed by women's skiing with 11, men's snowboarding with 15, and women's snowboarding with 12, with half of the participants, 33, coming from overseas
The men's skiing event included many skiers with the level to compete in the FWT Challenger. In particular, 10 skiers participated from France. Benoît Lamour, who is ranked highly in the FWT Qualifier Europe-Oceania rankings, and the crew that Katsuno Tenran skied with when he was touring Europe came to Japan, making for a high-level competition
The race started on time. The snow conditions on the first slope in the morning were a little difficult right after the start, but soon the snow piled up and was easy to run on. "This was what Hayato Nishizawa, who ran in front of the race, said
Here are some of the riding styles of some Japanese riders
Some of the Japanese male skiers got their feet caught in the snow, had trouble getting into the air, and failed to land properly. Although these talented skiers didn't say it out loud, it seemed they were quite nervous, as this was a high-ranking competition that had attracted strong skiers from overseas, and was being held in their home country of Japan
Meanwhile, the French crews who dominated the podium showed their true potential with their choice of vertical dropping lines, speedy turns, and big jumps and stomps
The security team also deserves praise for their efforts in steering the ship through the difficult conditions of Hakuba in January
"Choosing the right face for the competition this year was quite difficult and required a lot of care. We faced snow, rain, and wind leading up to the tournament.
I was pleased that we were able to use a new face, one we hadn't used in previous tournaments, to suit the conditions.
Even more than that, I was truly happy to see the athletes perform at their best with this new face."
Tomohiro Shagawa, a guide at Mt. Hakuba who oversees the tournament's security team, made the above comments in looking back on the tournament
on Monday, February 19thJ SPORTSon Friday, February 23rdthe FWT JAPANwill also be available on
Result
・Ski Men's
4 Maximilien Michel FRA 77.00
5 Shun Hirayama JPN 74.00
6 Benoît Lamour FRA 72.33
7 Yan Viallet FRA70.67
8 Henry Freeman NZL 68.33
9 Alexis Dumas FRA 66.67
10 Hayato Horie JPN SKI 66.00
11 Jonas Monnin CHE 65.33
12 William Martin CAN 63.67
13 Guillaume Duperier FRA 55.00
14 Ugo Troubat FRA 48.00
15 Jason Havlicek USA 47.00
16 Yuhei Yamada JPN 37.00
17 Tetsuji Ishida JPN 35.00
18 Anthony Cot FRA 24.33
19 Daichi Furuya JPN 15.00
NS Yuki Sibata JPN NS
NS Gen Sasaki JPN NS
NS Kouga Hoshino JPN NS
NS Yosuke Fujii JPN NS
・Women's skiing
4 Jill Frey DEU 67.00
5 Sachi Hirakawa JPN 64.00
6 Clemence Philippart FRA 42.67
7 Stine Berg Henriksen DNK 40.00
8 Rachel Little GBR 35.00
9 Shoko Suzuki JPN 28.33
NS Ayako Kuroda JPN NS
NS Chisato Sasada JPN NS
SnowboardMen's
4 Austen Brown CAN 73.00
5 Daisuke Watanabe JPN 70.33
6 Macéo Peresson FRA 61.67
7 Kazuhiro Sugiyama JPN 60.67
8 Yuto Yashiro JPN 57.33
9 Yoshihiro Sato JPN 56.00
10 Max King NZL 54.00
11 Evan Clapper USA 49.33
12 Toby Nagorcka AUS 48.67
13 Syuzaburo Ootsubo JPN 42.67
14 Takahiro Nishii JPN 34.33
15 Kaito Jinguji JPN 28.00
・Snowboarding Women
4 Sarah Bacher AUT 70.00
5 Megumi Mogi JPN 69.67
6 Mutsumi Ido JPN 67.00
7 Ayumi Kitahara JPN 65.00
8 Marie Ramparany FRA 60.33
9 Haruno Take JPN 57.00
10 TINGTING SHI CHN 53.67
11 Josephine Wruck AUS 38.67
12 Danae Sanllehy Sellartllart ESP 34.67