VAIL – California snowboarder Maddie Mastro accomplished something once thought impossible to win the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships on Saturday.
She also landed the first ever twice inverted trick in the halfpipe, a double crippler 900 on the frontside wall.
The impossible part of the accomplishment, going into the Burton US Open, was defeating Chloe Kim, who has won every contest she has entered this season and most of last season. The last time Kim finished second was on Jan. 13, 2018, at a Grand Prix event in Snowmass. All it took to defeat her on Saturday was a never-been-done trick.
There was lots of speculation over whether Mastro would be performing a double crippler today. Back in May, she made history as the first female to land the trick in the pipe during a spring training camp. She documented the historical stomp on her Instagram page.
She had done the trick during training camps a few times since, but hadn’t given it another shot since Fall 2018. Sometimes, third-round pressure is all it takes to push such tricks into the competition spotlight.
“I’ve been thinking about it for who knows how long … This is the first time I’ve done it this winter,” she said. “On the second run, I had a completely different game plan … I was wonky on the first hit, and had trouble scrambling back together.”
This story will be updated.