Luca Harrington Carries Exceptional Form into 2025/26 Season, Bronze at Secret Garden Big Air World Cup

Freeskier Luca Harrington (Wānaka, 21) has carried his exceptional form through from last season, finishing in third place at the opening event of the 2025/26 FIS Freeski Big Air World Cup Tour in China this afternoon.

Harrington explained; “On the first day of training it became apparent that the level of riding was really high and it was a battle just to get through to the finals. Today didn’t play out exactly as I had planned, but I played my cards well and I couldn’t be happier to be back on the podium.”

Harrington, the 2024/25 FIS Freeski Big Air Crystal Globe winner and current Freeski Big Air World Champion, was one of the favourites coming into today’s competition, qualifying in sixth position from Friday’s qualification round. 

Harrington put down a hugely technical switch right triple corked 1800 esco grab and a right triple corked 1980 safety grab to score a combined total score of 176.00 points and land himself on the podium.

Troy Podmilsak (USA) took his maiden Freeski Big Air World Cup victory today, with Canada’s Dylan Deschamps finishing in second place. 

Fellow Kiwi Lucas Ball (Nelson, 17) also qualified through to the heavy hitting men’s finals at what was only his third FIS Freeski Big Air World Cup, finishing in sixth place overall today, an impressive effort. In the women’s field, 18-year-old Sylvia Trotter competed in her debut FIS Big Air World Cup event, qualifying through to finals and finishing in seventh place overall, a great result for the Wānaka local. 

Big Air finals format provides the athletes with three jumps to execute two different tricks with two different directions of rotation. The best two attempts are scored out of 100, with the scores combined for a total score out of 200 with the highest score taking the win. 

The Kiwi snowboarders also competed in Secret Garden this weekend, with Lucia Georgalli (Wānaka, 18) also debuting in her first ever FIS Big Air World Cup and coming away with ninth place, just 0.5 points off making the finals.

The FIS Big Air World Cup action continues in China, with the Beijing Big Air World Cup set to go down next weekend for both the freeskiers and the snowboarders.