Roope Tonteri clinches big air and becomes second Finnish rider to win two Golds at single World Championships

Jan 21, 2013

Author: Oliver Kraus

Roope Tonteri has once again underlined his outstanding freestyle snowboarding talent on the second day of the 10^th FIS Snowboard World Championships staged in Stoneham and Quebec City, Canada, by adding big air Gold to his slopestyle Gold which he won in Friday's WCS opening event.

“I don't know what to say. I just tried to land my tricks like in the slopestyle,” Tonteri said after his win. “And this is what I got.”

By scoring a total of 188.50 points for his two best out of three runs in the finals of the best twelve riders, the 20-years-old continued his home country's dominance at big air World Championships decisions.

In so far five hosted events, riders from Finland took seven out of a possible 15 medals including four Gold.

Claiming the fifth big air Gold for his country today, he also became the second Finnish rider since Antti Autti (2005, Halfpipe and Big Air) to clinch to titles at a single WCS.

Today's runner-up Niklas Mattsson (SWE, 177.75) also earned his career's second World Championship medal thus celebrating a perfect comeback from an injury break (right meniscus). Two years ago, the best semi finalist had won slopestyle Silver in La Molina, Spain.

Seppe Smits (BEL, 149.50) rounded out the podium as third. As a consequence, the rider residing close to Antwerp became the youngest snowboarder in WCS history to claim four medals.

In addition, being 21 years and 191 days of age, he also completed a full set of medals after he had won big air Silver in 2009 and 2011 as well as slopestyle Gold in 2011. Until today, Antti Autti had held the record with 21 years and 310 days.

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