{"id":2455201,"date":"2020-02-29T22:52:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T05:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/xuetong-cai-wins-womens-halfpipe-finals-at-us-open\/"},"modified":"2020-02-29T22:52:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-01T05:52:00","slug":"chinas-xuetong-cai-wins-womens-halfpipe-finals-at-burton-us-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/chinas-xuetong-cai-wins-womens-halfpipe-finals-at-burton-us-open\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Xuetong Cai wins women\u2019s halfpipe finals at Burton US Open"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.8440445586975\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-321825-7\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Barry Eckhaus | Special to the Daily | Halfpipe rider Xuetong Cai put China in the history books on Saturday, becoming the first Chinese snowboarder to win a Burton US Open title. The Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships is the longest-running competition in snowboarding, starting in 1982.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Halfpipe rider Xuetong Cai put China in the history books on Saturday, becoming the first Chinese snowboarder to win a Burton US Open title. The Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships is the longest-running competition in snowboarding, starting in 1982.<\/strong><br \/>Barry Eckhaus | Special to the Daily<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Halfpipe rider Xuetong Cai put China in the history books on Saturday, becoming the first Chinese snowboarder to win a Burton US Open title. The Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships is the longest-running competition in snowboarding, starting in 1982.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Barry Eckhaus | Special to the Daily | Xuetong Cai started snowboarding in 2004. The Chinese snowboarder said winning the Burton US Open is the ultimate achievement in snowboarding.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Xuetong Cai started snowboarding in 2004. The Chinese snowboarder said winning the Burton US Open is the ultimate achievement in snowboarding.<\/strong><br \/>Barry Eckhaus | Special to the Daily<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Xuetong Cai started snowboarding in 2004. The Chinese snowboarder said winning the Burton US Open is the ultimate achievement in snowboarding.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-2-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | The crowd looks on as Women's Halfpipe Finals gets started.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>The crowd looks on as Women&#8217;s Halfpipe Finals gets started.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-2-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"The crowd looks on as Women's Halfpipe Finals gets started.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-3-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | Ruki Tomita in her 3rd run at the Burton US Open Halfpipe Final. Tomita placed 3rd.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Ruki Tomita in her 3rd run at the Burton US Open Halfpipe Final. Tomita placed 3rd.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-3-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Ruki Tomita in her 3rd run at the Burton US Open Halfpipe Final. Tomita placed 3rd.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-4-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | Xuetong Cai hits the tombstone at the top of the modified halfpipe in the Burton US Open Halfpipe Finals.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Xuetong Cai hits the tombstone at the top of the modified halfpipe in the Burton US Open Halfpipe Finals.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-4-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Xuetong Cai hits the tombstone at the top of the modified halfpipe in the Burton US Open Halfpipe Finals.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-5-683x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | Maddie Mastro hits the tombstone in the Halfpipe Finals. Mastro, returning winner from 2019, did not place.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Maddie Mastro hits the tombstone in the Halfpipe Finals. Mastro, returning winner from 2019, did not place.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-5-683x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Maddie Mastro hits the tombstone in the Halfpipe Finals. Mastro, returning winner from 2019, did not place.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-6-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-6-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | Ruki Tomita slides off the tombstone at the top of the modified halfpipe and placed 3rd in the Women's Halfpipe Final.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Ruki Tomita slides off the tombstone at the top of the modified halfpipe and placed 3rd in the Women&#8217;s Halfpipe Final.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-6-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Ruki Tomita slides off the tombstone at the top of the modified halfpipe and placed 3rd in the Women's Halfpipe Final.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-7-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-7-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | Ruki Tomita placed 3rd in the Women's Halfpipe Final.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Ruki Tomita placed 3rd in the Women&#8217;s Halfpipe Final.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-7-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Ruki Tomita placed 3rd in the Women's Halfpipe Final.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-8-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-8-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | Ruki Tomita placed 3rd in the Women's Halfpipe Final.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Ruki Tomita placed 3rd in the Women&#8217;s Halfpipe Final.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-8-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Ruki Tomita placed 3rd in the Women's Halfpipe Final.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-9-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-9-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | Haruna Matsumoto Hits the tombstone in her final run of the Women's Halfpipe Final.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Haruna Matsumoto Hits the tombstone in her final run of the Women&#8217;s Halfpipe Final.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/BurtonHPWomensFinals-VDN-030120-1-9-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Haruna Matsumoto Hits the tombstone in her final run of the Women's Halfpipe Final.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/xuetong-cai-wins-womens-halfpipe-finals-at-us-open\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/xuetong-cai-wins-womens-halfpipe-finals-at-us-open\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">VAIL \u2014 A Chinese athlete topped the podium for the first time ever in snowboarding\u2019s longest-running competition, the Burton US Open, Saturday in Vail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">And with China preparing to make its debut as a winter sports haven at the 2022 Winter Olympics, the country appears to be peaking at the right moment. Xuetong Cai has been competing in snowboarding for 15 years, long before China voiced interest in hosting the Olympics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">Since then, she has seen the sport grow to a level in China where there are junior team athletes competing, a social media scene where pictures and videos of snowboarders are being shared frequently, and mountains where recreational snowboarders are a common sight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">\u201cIt\u2019s getting there,\u201d Cai said following her win on Saturday. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to get there; because of the Olympics now it\u2019s growing, snowboarding in China, you can see it in the mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">While a win at the most historic snowboarding competition in the Burton US Open solidifies the country\u2019s status as a serious snowboarding nation, Cai\u2019s win isn\u2019t the first big splash for China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">In 2018, Chinese snowboarder Jiayu Liu earned the Olympic silver medal with her impressive halfpipe performance. It was the first winter Olympics medal for China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">Liu was also at the Burton US Open this year but opted out of the competition. She said the growth of the sport since her 2018 podium finish has been surreal to see.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">\u201cIt\u2019s just getting bigger numbers, every year, all the time, and it\u2019s not going to stop, because we have so many people in China,\u201d she said. \u201cAll the students, all the kids, everybody goes on snow, so that\u2019s a cool thing to see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\"><strong>YIWEIG ZHANG AND THE TRIPLE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">On the men\u2019s side, China\u2019s Yiwei Zhang also made a name for himself at the Burton US Open in 2014, when he was the top-performing athlete in semifinals. He didn\u2019t land a run in finals, though, finishing 10th. Zhang continued to impress in the years to come, finishing runner-up to Scotty James at the 2015 World Championships and becoming the first person to ever put a triple cork to his feet later that season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">Finnish physiotherapist Tiitu Romar has been working with the Chinese team and said the progression of the athletes has been impressive to watch. Romar said Zhang is taking some time off but has all intentions of competing at the 2022 Olympics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">Romar was busy this week in Vail nonetheless, with both Cai and up-and-coming Chinese athlete Shaotong Wu making finals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">Romar said Jiayu Liu and Xuetong Cai are inspiring a new generation of snowboarders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BriefText\">\u201cThey\u2019re both really good at helping the younger girls in the pipe,\u201d Romar said. \u201cThey both do an awesome job supporting these younger girls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:jlaconte@vaildaily.com\">jlaconte@vaildaily.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/xuetong-cai-wins-womens-halfpipe-finals-at-us-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Halfpipe rider Xuetong Cai put China in the history books on Saturday, becoming the first Chinese snowboarder to win a Burton US Open title. The Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships is the longest-running competition in snowboarding, starting in 1982.Barry Eckhaus | Special to the Daily Xuetong Cai started snowboarding in 2004. The Chinese snowboarder said [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2455201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 13:01:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455201\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}