Wānaka snowsports athletes had a successful day at the first FIS Australia New Zealand Cup Slopestyle event of the season at The Remarkables Ski Area on Saturday (August 12).

Lucia Georgalli and Syliva Trotter, both from Wānaka, were among five Kiwi athletes to achieve podium finishes.

Sixteen-year-old Lucia earned third place on the women’s snowboard podium, behind Seung Eun Yu (Korea) and Cool Wakushima (Queenstown), who took out the division with a score of 92.67.

Kiwi athletes also claimed first and third place in the women’s freeski division, with Madeleine Disbrowe (Queenstown, 15) taking the win, Nanaho Kiriyama (Japan) in second place, and Wānaka’s Sylvia Trotter (15) finishing in third position.  

Fifteen-year-old Wānaka skier Sylvia Trotter earned a bronze, behind Madeline Disbrowe (gold) and Nanaho Kiriyama (silver).

Zephyr Lovelock (Auckland, 18) was the only Kiwi male to finish on the podium in the hotly contested freeski and snowboard divisions, where Dongheon Lee of Korea earned first place and Oliver Martin of the USA in second place.  

The next event of the 2023 FIS Australia New Zealand Cup series will be held at Cardrona Alpine Resort from September 28 as part of the Cardrona Freestyle Nationals. 

The winner of each division of the series will receive a personal FIS World Cup spot for the upcoming 2023/24 season.  

PHOTO: Snowsports NZ