Snowboarding
Who’s next in women’s snowboarding?
Female snowboarding is exploding and these five girls are headed for the top.
If you’ve ever compared the moves of today’s top riders with what was being done just five years ago, you’ll see that women’s snowboarding is experiencing a huge leap in progression right now. It kinda makes you wonder what the Anna Gassers, Klaudia Medlovas, Chloe Kims and Katie Ormerods of 2022 will be doing, doesn’t it?
Well, we don’t have a crystal ball, but we do have our eyes on a few talented females who could well be up there with the best in a few years time. Additionally to the six up-and-coming riders we presented last week, here are five more to watch.
Kokomo Murase
The fact that she won the 2016 World Rookie Finals would be enough to earn Japan’s Kokomo Murase a spot on this list: the fact she won it at the age of 12 – six years younger than some of the girls she was riding against – makes Murase pretty much the hottest snowboarding talent you’ve (probably) never heard of. Just last month she took top slopestyle honours at the World Rookie Finals 2017 in Austria, and judging by the fact she’s already pulling backside double cork 1080s(!), she's destined to go right to the top.
Maddie Mastro
17-year-old Chloe Kim might be dominating halfpipe podiums and headlines right now, but there’s another 17-year-old talent riding hot on her heels – Maddie Mastro, from Mountain High resort in Southern California. 2016 was a breakout season for this SoCal animal lover, scoring podiums at several high-profile contests and even beating her mentor Kelly Clark once. Anyone who’s able to push Kelly Clark a spot down on the podium is a name worth remembering, so keep your eyes open for Maddie.
Elli Pikkujämsä
There’s no doubt that Finland is one of the world’s great pro-snowboarding factories: the overall standard of Finnish snowboarding is outstanding, and riders like Eero Ettala and Enni Rukajärvi have proved that you don’t need big mountains to make big stars.
When it comes to up-and-coming female slopestyle talent, it looks like there’s a new flying Finn on the rise – Elli Pikkujämsä. This 18-year-old from Turku just placed third in slopestyle at the 2017 FIS World Junior Champs, so we know she’s got the talent to make it to the top – only problem is, she’s also playing football at international level! Sooner or later she’ll need to choose between soccer and snowboard boots, but until then, watch this space.
Jackie Lammert
Down-and-dirty urban snowboarding is definitely a male-dominated niche of the snowboarding world – possibly because the pain-to-glory ratio is about as low as it gets, and for some strange reason dudes tend to enjoy physical self-abuse. So it’s always interesting when a girl comes along who’s ready to test herself on a gnarly street rail, and that’s exactly what Michigan ripper Jackie Lammert is all about. She’s been on the street scene for a while, but 2016 was her breakout season: with a full part in Transworld’s When It Happens movie (along with a Rookie Of The Year nomination) under her belt, it looks like Jackie is moving into the big league.
Tess Coady
Australia is a lot better known for producing world-class surfers than snowboarders, but there’s no question that the legendary Torah Bright has inspired many a young Aussie girl to stop chasing waves and start chasing snow – not least Tess Coady. At the tender age of 16, this talented ripper from Melbourne has already shown she’s got the potential to achieve in slopestyle what Torah achieved in halfpipe: that is, a stack of gold medals. Just last month she got that dream started in style, bagging not one but two junior world titles in slopestyle and big air.
Want to get to know the rest of tommorow's stars? Read part one of our girls to watch article here.