Liam Brearley delivered a clutch second run to secure his first world title in men’s slopestyle on Friday.
The 22-year-old from Gravenhurst, Ont., scored 90.15 points to claim gold at the snowboard world championships.
“I’m so glad I landed that run,” said Brearley. “I didn’t land my first one, and I was just like, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose, I’m going to put it all out there,’ and it worked out.”
Olympic big air champion Su Yiming of China finished second with 85.07, while 16-year-old American Oliver Martin took bronze with 78.98.
Brearley said the level of competition at St. Moritz was among the best he’s seen.
“These boys are killing it, and it’s such a high level of slopestyle right now,” he said. “It’s just an insane level of riding.”
Fellow Canadian and World Cup season champion Cameron Spalding, of Havelock, Ont., placed sixth in a deep 16-man field that saw some of slopestyle’s biggest names finish further down the rankings, including Norway’s Marcus Kleveland, a two-time world champion, in 14th.
Reigning Olympic champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand claimed the women’s title, with Japan’s Kokomo Murase taking silver and Reira Iwabuchi earning bronze.
Quebec City’s Laurie Blouin finished 10th.
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