Jobin strikes gold with first World Cup podium, Fraser claims bronze in Aspen

It was a milestone day for two Canadians at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen, Colorado.

26-year-old Francis Jobin had the performance of his life on Sunday in snowboard slopestyle, claiming a gold medal and his first-ever World Cup podium at men’s slopestyle event.

Jobin executed a near-flawless run in the 16-man final, and scored a 79.30 to soar to the top of the leaderboard and claim gold.

His first two rails were executed to near-perfection, allowing him to cruise into the subsequent parts of his run with ease. He landed a switch basckside double rodeo 1260 nosegrab in his final kicker to put a bow on a special performance.

Jobin had finished seventh in the qualification round and was a surprise contender to come away with gold. His previous best in slopestyle was fourth place, which he did twice over his nine-year career.

Canadian Mark McMorris, who has been no stranger to the top of the podium throughout his career, was in second place after the qualification round but fell to 15th in the final.

Liam Brearly nearly joined his countrymate in the medal count, but fell seven points short of the podiums to finish in fifth place. Yiming Su of China took silver, while Sean Fitzsimons took bronze.

Despite it being his first podium, Jobin is a darkhorse candidate for the slopestyle Crystal Globe as he sits in fourth place thanks to consistently high placements. Canadian Cameron Spalding still holds the top spot.

In the freeski halfpipe, Amy Fraser held onto a podium position in the qualifying position to win a bronze – her first podium of the season.

Fraser scored a 87.5 in the qualifying round to advance to the eight-women final. She was joined by Canadians Cassie Sharpe, and Rachael Karker.

Fraser prove to be the best of the bunch as her final round score of 86.75 was a noticeable improvement, and allowed her to stay in medal contention. Zoe Atkin of Great Britain took home gold while Fanghui Li of China won silver. Sharpe, meanwhile cracked the Top 5 and Karker finished sixth.

Halfpipe and slopestyle action will resume on home soil as the FIS travels for a stop in Calgary, Alberta on Februaury 14.