Snowboarder Su shines in debut world championships, earning silver despite injury setbacks

China's Su Yiming secured a silver medal in snowboard slopestyle at the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle, and Freeski World Championships in Switzerland, while Canada's Liam Brearley took home the gold.

Many snowboarders struggled to execute their tricks flawlessly during their first runs, but Su, the Chinese Olympic gold medalist competing in his first ever world championships, delivered an impressive performance. He ranked first after his opening run, scoring 85.07 points, 13.01 points ahead of Brearley.

However, Brearley made a remarkable comeback in his second run, achieving a score of 90.15 points. Su, who has been largely absent from World Cup events due to injury since his Olympic triumph in Beijing 2022, attempted a more challenging trick in his third run, but it wasn't enough to elevate the 21-year-old to the top of the podium.

Ultimately, Brearley celebrated his first career world championship title, while Su's impressive performance earned him a second-place finish.

"This is my first time competing at the world chmpionships. And I feel like, after the Beijing Winter Olympics, the overall level of snowboard slopesyle across the globe has reached new heights," Su said.

"In fact my coach and I have been quite frustrated over the past two years. We've been trying every possible way to make breakthroughs and to win, but somehow for us, slopestyle is even more challenging than big air."

"Perhaps just standing on the podium is already a significant breakthrough and a great success for us. Of course, our ultimate goal is always the gold medal, but we are making progress step by step towards a better direction. At least this silver medal shows that all the efforts are not in vain, all the daily practise and analysis over the past year are worth it."