Jasmine Baird of Mississauga, Ontario won the gold medal at a World Cup women’s big air snowboarding event in Edmonton, Alberta on Saturday. It was one of two medals for Canada as Nicolas Laframboise of Saint Jean, Quebec won a bronze medal in the men’s World Cup big air snowboarding event. The events were unique because they were at Commonwealth Stadium, home of the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Elks.
Baird posted a score of 159.5 points. Evy Poppe of Belgium won the silver medal with 146.5 points. Reira Iwabuchi of Japan won the bronze medal with 143.25 points. Baird earned the podium by 20.75 points over Melissa Peperkamp of the Netherlands, who had 138.75 points. This was Baird’s first career World Cup gold medal and sixth World Cup medal overall.
Laframbroise posted a score of 168 points. Valentino Guseli of Australia won the gold medal with 172.5 points. Chris Corning of the United States won the silver medal with a score of 172 points. Laframboise earned a podium spot by 2.5 points over Hiroaki Kunitake of Japan, who had 165.5 points.
In the World Cup women’s big air snowboarding standings, Baird and Iwabuchi lead with 160 points each. In the World Cup men’s big air snowboarding standings, Laframboise is in fourth with 92 points. Guseli leads with 140 points. The medals for Baird and Laframboise will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.
