Teen snowboarder captures 1st career World Cup medal

Korean snowboarder Yu Seung-eun poses with her silver medal won in the women's big air event at the International Ski Federation Snowboard World Cup in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Saturday. Courtesy of Korea Ski Snowboard Association

Teenage snowboarder Yu Seung-eun has won her first career World Cup medal in the women's big air, with her first Winter Olympics fast approaching.

Yu grabbed silver in her discipline with 173.25 points at the International Ski Federation Snowboard World Cup in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on Saturday (local time). Miyabi Onitsuka of Japan just beat the Korean for the gold with 174.00 points.

Ally Hickman of Australia finished third with 162.25 points.

Yu, 17, had the second-highest score in the qualification phase with 89.75 points and maintained her strong form for the podium finish. She is the first Korean snowboarder to win a World Cup medal in big air.

Big air made its Olympic debut in Korea at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games. Boarders drop into the ramp and launch off one big jump to perform flips and spins. They are judged on difficulty, execution, height and distance of their jumps and their landing.

Yu is the second Korean snowboarder to win a World Cup medal in the past three days, joining the fellow 17-year-old Choi Gaon, who won the women's halfpipe title in China on Friday.

The recent form of these two teenagers bodes well for Korea's medals hopes at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February.

Korea so far has earned just one Olympic medal in snowboard — silver by Lee Sang-ho in the men's parallel giant slalom at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.