Atkin ups the ante for victory as Ferreira claims third-straight Copper win
Dec 20, 2025·Freeski Park & Pipe
Reigning Freeski Halfpipe World Champion Zoe Atkin (GBR) upped the ante in Copper Mountain to win her third career World Cup on Saturday as U.S. skier Alex Ferreira topped the field on home snow for his 12th World Cup victory and third consecutive win in Copper.
Twenty-two-year-old Atkin took an early lead in the women’s final on Saturday with a first-run score of 89.25 – more than nine points clear of her closest rival and runner-up Indra Brown (AUS) on 80.00.
Fifteen-year-old Brown fell heavily in the middle of her second run but was able to hold onto her second-place position as the rest of the field struggled with tricky pipe conditions and low light.
China’s Zhang Kexin finished third on 77.50, followed by teammate Liu Yishan in fourth place.
Atkin, who was the top qualifier for Saturday’s final, began her first run with her signature, boosted left 540 mute, followed by a right 720 tailgrab, a switch left 720 Japan, a right 540 leading tailgrab, a right alley-opp 360, before finishing her winning run off with a switch right 720 safety on the final hit.
Saturday’s results marks the second time Atkin has claimed victory in Copper after the British skier claimed her maiden World Cup win here in 2019.
Atkin topped the field on Saturday after she was runner-up behind reigning Olympic Freeski Halfpipe champion Eileen Gu (CHN) at the season opener in Secret Garden last week.
Last season the British skier shared the discipline’s Crystal Globe with China’s Li Fanghui, the first time in FIS Freeski history that two athletes shared the season trophy.
Atkin then went on to win gold at the Engadin 2025 FIS Freeski World Championships in March.
“I just recently became World Champion which was really exciting for me and I think this is the first time wearing the yellow bib, so I’m really excited to be World Cup leader. I’m just honestly having a lot of fun and feeling really confident," she said.
Brown’s second place on Saturday is her second consecutive podium finish after the teenager was third behind Atkin in Secret Garden at what was Brown’s first-ever World Cup start.
In the men’s final, Alex Ferreira knocked countryman Hunter Hess from top of the leaderboard after Ferreira scored 91.50 in his second and last run to overtake Hess’ first run score of 88.00.
Hess was the top qualifier going into the men’s final and looked set to take what would have been his first World Cup win as the top scorer with four skiers left to take their second run.
But Ferreira’s winning performance reminded the field that victory is never guaranteed when the 31-year-old still has a run up his sleeve.
Canada’s Andrew Longino rounded out the podium on 84.00, giving the 23-year-old his second career World Cup podium and all but guaranteeing himself an Olympic spot for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.
Ferreira's victory on Saturday is his 12th World Cup win and his third consecutive time on top of the Copper podium.
The veteran skier said conditions in the pipe were challenging on Saturday as some of his U.S. teammates crashed heavily during their runs.
“It’s really difficult because it’s a lot of wind, it’s scary, it’s flat light. I don’t know, I just keep telling myself over and over again, ‘I can do this, I can do this, I can do this’. Then I go out and do it,” said Ferreira.
The 31-year-old scored 73.75 in his first run before landing his winning second run featuring a switch right dub 1080 Japan, a left dub 1260 mute, a right 1080 opposite tailgrab, a switch left dub 1080 safety, and finally a massive right dub 1260 safety to Japan on the final hit to put an exclamation mark on it.
“I had a bit of a couple of bobbles on my first run,” Ferreira admitted.
Double Olympic Halfpipe champion and Beijing 2022 silver medalist David Wise finished in 13th place, while three-time Olympic Slopestyle medalist Nick Goepper was 16th after both were unable to put down clean runs with either of their attempts. Both men are hoping to qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in February. Ferreira has already qualified for Milano Cortina 2026.
The next Freeski Halfpipe World Cup will take place in Calgary (CAN) between 1 and 3 January 2026.
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