NZ freeskier Miguel Porteous has claimed the first World Cup medal of his career, with silver at the FIS Freeski Halfpipe World Cup at Copper Mountain in the USA.
Coming into the 10-man final having qualified second in his heats, Porteous went straight to the top of the leaderboard with a score of 93.75 on his first run of three.
Double Olympic gold medallist David Wise (USA) laid down a strong challenge but his top score of 90.50 put him just behind the Kiwi. Top qualifier Aaron Blunck (USA) recovered from a first run crash to leapfrog in to first place with a score of 96.25 on his second lap through the 22-foot high, 68-foot wide superpipe.
New Zealand’s Olympic bronze medallist, and youngest of the Porteous brothers, Nico, finished in fourth place with a score of 88.00 on his first run.