Jamie Anderson has reintroduced herself to the competitive scene in a big way.
Anderson bested fellow American Elena Hight to win her matchup at the 2024 Natural Selection Tour (NST) event in Revelstoke. Hight owns an NST title from two years ago, but found herself outmatched in the Montana Bowl venue against the snowboarding legend from South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Mikey Ciccarelli also found success on the men's side, defeating Blake Paul with a solid run featuring a cab 540.
Mark McMorris, fresh off his record-setting 23rd Winter X Games medal, wasn't so lucky. The Regina native fell in a hotly-contested bout against Torstein Horgmo of Norway.
Likewise, Chris Rasman is going home after failing to topple Jared Elston. Rasman joined his fellow Whistlerite Ciccarelli at last year's NST finals in Alaska.
Underdog action
The most stunning upset of all took place among women, as Hailey Langland of the United States ousted defending NST queen Zoi Sadowski-Synnott. Langland notched the event's top score, a 75.50, to triumph over the two-time world champ and three-time Olympic medallist from New Zealand.
“Natural Selection is in a league of its own. I grew up riding slopestyle and competing, but I also love filming and riding pow. This marries the two and it’s super fun,” said Langland in a press release. “Very happy to stay on my feet, it’s my first totally clean NST run. The rest just flowed and I got to the bottom without any snow in my goggles!
"It’s awesome because [Zoi] pushes me. I’ve tried every strategy against her and this time I just took the approach of imagining I was filming a line for a film, not a contest and it worked.”
France's Marion Haerty vanquished 2021 NST winner Robin Van Gyn of Victoria, B.C., ensuring that there will be a brand-new ladies' champion this year.
Also moving on are incumbent men's titleholder Travis Rice, Sage Kotsenburg, Austen Sweetin, Nils Mindnich, Torgier Bergrem and Mary Rand. Catch the next leg of NST excitement from Selkirk Tangiers beginning April 4 on Red Bull TV.
Full results are available on the NST website.
