Jamie Anderson reacts after placing first in the women's snowboard slopestyle finals at the 2022 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain on Jan. 8, 2022 in Mammoth, Calif.
MAMMOTH, Calif. – Following Saturday’s snowboard halfpipe finals at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, U.S. freeskiers and snowboarders were named to the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team heading into the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
Saturday’s action concluded with the snowboard halfpipe finals, which saw Japan’s Ayumu Hirano take home gold for the men with a 95.80. Americans Lucas Foster (69.40) and Joey Okesson (57.40) finished fifth and seventh, respectively.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White headlined the Team USA squad but picked up an injury in training, resulting in his premature exit from finals.
No U.S. women qualified for the halfpipe finals, with Vail, Colorado, native Zoe Kalapos narrowly missing out after finishing 11th overall (60.80) during qualifiers.
The highlight of the day, however, came later at night: The Olympic team naming.
2018 Olympian Chris Corning, Mammoth-based snowboarder Dusty Henrickson and reigning Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard were announced to the men’s snowboard slopestyle and big air teams. (All slopestyle skiers and snowboarders automatically qualify for big air as well.)
2018 Olympian Hailey Langland and two-time Olympic gold medalist Jamie Anderson also earned their tickets to Beijing, making up the women’s slopestyle and big air teams. Anderson, 31, took home gold in the women’s slopestyle finals earlier Saturday afternoon.
Olympian Maddie Maestro was the lone qualifier for the snowboard halfpipe team during the team naming. Maestro, 21, finished 12th overall at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and is looking at making a strong comeback this time around.
“[In PyeongChang], I didn’t know what to expect or how it was going to be, honestly,” said the Wrightwood, California, native. “This time, I have a little bit more experience with what it’s going to be like. So, it’s a little more relaxed in that aspect, I know what the process is like.”
Maestro credits her success during this season’s Olympic qualification process to the people she surrounds herself with, her U.S. teammates and newfound pacing.
“I’m super grateful for the group of people I have around me,” Maestro said. “I have a great support team and a lot of amazing snowboarders to look up to. … And now, I’ve learned to pace myself. It’s a marathon not a sprint, and that’s the one big thing that I’m focusing on this season.”
