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Kelly Clark & Taku Hiraoka Win HalfPipe Finals at Burton US Open – Full Recap! (@kellyclarkfdn)

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Kelly Clark (USA) and Taku Hiraoka (JPN) earned the winning halfpipe titles at the 33rd Annual Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships presented by MINI on Saturday afternoon (March 7) in Vail, Colorado.

Both riders are taking home $45,000 each and ending their competitive snowboard season on top, with Kelly Clark’s win today making for a record eight first place US Open halfpipe titles. Taku Hiraoka’s win continues the theme of Japanese domination of the men’s divisions at the 2015 US Open following Yuki Kadono’s historic slopestyle win yesterday.

The final day of competition took place under sunny skies in front of a packed crowd surrounding the 22-foot halfpipe at Vail Mountain. The women’s event was a battle of 1080s between Kelly Clark and Chloe Kim. In the end, Kelly Clark took her record eighth Burton US Open halfpipe title landing a huge frontside air, backside 540 mute, frontside 1080 indy, Cab 720 mute, crippler stalefish, finishing with a method air for a score of 91.

Clark said, “Today I saw these girls doing tens, and I was like, yes, that’s what I was waiting for! It’s about the progression of women’s snowboarding. I was proud and I was excited, I was also pretty overwhelmed getting to stand on the podium for the eighth time at the Open—it’s a big deal for me. I’m so grateful to still be a part of snowboarding and I know women’s snowboarding will be in good hands whenever these girls take over.”

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuCnGE_ZZFE]

Kelly Clark – Women’s Halfpipe Final @ 2015 Burton US Open – 1st Place Run

The men’s finals featured a super competitive field with the podium ultimately decided on the final runs. For Taku Hiraoka, today’s US Open title marks the biggest win of his career, with past results that include silver at the 2014 US Open and the 2014 X Games, as well as a 2014 Olympic bronze medal. He set the high score of 90.99 on his second run with a frontside 540 indy, to a backside 900 mute, frontside double cork 1080 stalefish, Cab double cork 1080 mute, ending with a lofty frontside 1260 tail grab. 

Hiraoka said, “I’ve been idolizing this contest since I was little, so being a winner here is really special for me. The US Open has the biggest crowd of all the contests I enter, and it motivates me a lot.”  

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhv5bUsqIYE]

Taku Hiraoka – Men’s Halfpipe Final @ 2015 Burton US Open – 1st Place Run

In addition to the halfpipe awards today, Burton is proud to partner with Clif Bar & Company to present the Clif ‘Raise the’ Bar Award rewarding creativity and style by spotlighting the best throwback trick in the halfpipe. The award will be presented to Chloe Kim and Danny Davis, both laying down a classic McTwist in their halfpipe runs. Both riders will take home $2,500 each.

Check out the final results for Men and Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe Finals below.

Women’s Halfpipe Finals Results:

1. Kelly Clark, BURTON, 91.00

2. Chloe Kim, BURTON, 88.74

3. Arielle Gold, RED BULL, 83.87

4. Xuetong Cai, NIKE, 71.00

5. Hikaru Oe, BURTON, 62.62

6. Queralt Castellet, YONEX, 52.50

 

Men’s Halfipe Finals Results:

1. Taku Hiraoka, BURTON, 90.99

2. Arthur Longo, VOLCOM, 84.99

3. Ayumu Hirano, NIKE, 84.75

4. Jan Scherrer, NIKE, 78.62

5. Iouri Podladtchikov, MONSTER, 73.25

6. Christian Haller, BURTON, 67.87

7. Danny Davis, BURTON, 62.12

8. Taylor Gold, MONSTER, 61.12

9. Ben Ferguson, BURTON, 49.12

10. David Habluetzel, BURTON, 24.87

That’s a wrap for the 33rd annual Burton US Open at Vail Mountain!

Author

  • Juliet Schroder

    Juliet is the founder and executive producer/host of Celeb Secrets and Celeb Secrets Country. When not reporting on the latest news in pop culture and country music, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, watching sports and exploring the latest fashion trends. Juliet holds a B.S. in marketing from St. John's University.

Juliet is the founder and executive producer/host of Celeb Secrets and Celeb Secrets Country. When not reporting on the latest news in pop culture and country music, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, watching sports and…

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