Maria Gasslitter once again showcased her talent at the World Cup Finals. © Pier Marco Tacca/Pentaphoto

Even a fall can't spoil Gasslitter's finale.

In the last competition of her World Cup season, Maria Gasslitter once again managed to reach the final. Despite the result, she said goodbye with a smile.

March 28, 2026

From: never

While the judges made their decision in the background, Maria Gasslitter simply shrugged and smiled in front of the camera. Just moments before, the 19-year-old from St. Ulrich had crashed on her second attempt in the slopestyle final at the World Cup in Silvaplana, Switzerland, botching her landing after a trick on a rail. This cost the South Tyrolean a potential improvement in her final World Cup appearance of the season: With 34,57 points from the first run, she finished in eighth place overall.

Her smile, however, spoke volumes – and rightly so: Gasslitter had only made her World Cup debut at the end of November, and about a month and a half later she made it into a final for the first time, where she promptly achieved a sensational fifth place. Her participation in the Olympic Games was just as much of a highlight as her tenth place finish (slopestyle) and ninth place finish (big air) on that very same stage.

Gasslitter among the top players in qualifying

And she also showcased her talent in Silvaplana. In the qualifying round on Saturday morning, Gasslitter landed in a phenomenal fourth place with 70,80 points, behind Muir Kirsty (78,98) and the two Swiss athletes Sarah Höfflin (75,71) and Giulia Tanno (72,25) – the trio that would again find themselves on the podium a few hours later. In the final, however, Höfflin (80,07) clearly prevailed over Kirsty (75,54) and her compatriot Tanno (70,53).

In the men's competition, Norwegian Birk Ruud triumphed (83,52), while Azzurro Miro Tabanelli only managed 16th – and thus last – place.