Liu Mengting of China wins first freeski big air World Cup title

Liu Mengting of China won the women's freeski big air World Cup final at Woerthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria, on Saturday, securing her first title of the tournament in career.

Having completed two Double 1080s in the first two runs, Liu cored a total score of 170.60 points that nearly booked her the top spot on the podium before the third run. In the end she edged the runner-up Flora Tabanelli of Italy by 0.20 points.

Liu also became the second Chinese freeskier to win the big air World Cup after Gu Ailing who won the Steamboat stop in Colorado during the 2020-21 season.

"I'm so happy. My first World Cup win, it's so cool," she said.

Liu made the final as No. 1 from the qualification contest. She picked left double cork 1080 safety for her first run and double cork 1080 in her second, finishing both with great performance.

Tabanelli had the highest-scored women's run of the evening after receiving 91.00 points for her left double cork 1260 safety in the first run. However, she earned only 77.80 and 79.20 points in her second and third attempts respectively, failing to close the gap with Liu.

Despite the loss, Tabanelli still stepped on the podium for the third time in the 2024-25 campaign and it was her fifth overall since switching from junior to senior competition in 2023.

Muriel Mohr of Germany came in third with 166.20 points.

In the men's event, Luca Harrington of New Zealand dominated the contest after receiving the highest score of the evening with 94.80 for his first run by completing a switch right triple 1620 esco double grab. He then finished the second run that featured a right double 1080 bring-back 900 Japan.

Harrington won the title with a total of 182.60 points, followed by Timothe Sivignon of France in second and home favorite Matej Svancer in third.