Maria Gasslitter narrowly misses out on a sensation

Freestyle skier Maria Gasslitter narrowly missed out on a sensational victory at the slopestyle finals in Aspen (USA). Nevertheless, the South Tyrolean skier ended the competition with a positive feeling.

09 January 2026

From: cst

For the first time in her career, Maria Gasslitter qualified for a Slopestyle World Cup final on Thursday. Normally, eight athletes compete. Because Anni Karava (FIN) had to withdraw, there were only seven in Aspen on Friday.

After the first of two runs, Gasslitter was in fourth place. However, Canadian Elena Gaskell had botched her attempt. She didn't make that mistake again, and so Gaskell overtook Gasslitter in the second run. While Gaskell (72,90 points) finished in third place, Gasslitter ended the final in fifth. The skier from Val Gardena improved her score from 50,53 to 56,00 points in her second attempt.

The victory went to top qualifier Kirsty Muir (GBR), who scored 80,62 points in the first run. Alongside Gaskell, Canadian Megan Oldham (73,02) completed the podium.