Valentino
Guseli
Australia
·
Snowboarding
Датум на раѓање | 1 Април 2005 |
|---|---|
Возраст | 20 |
Националност | Australia |
Почеток на кариера | 2019 |
Дисциплини | Snowboard Halfpipe |
Valentino Guseli is a snowboarding phenom. Having been highly regarded in his home country for years, the Australian youngster announced himself on the international scene with a silver-medal-winning performance at the 2018 US Open Junior Jam in Vail, California, USA.
He continued to turn heads the following season, dominating the field to take home the gold medal with a score of 96.99 points, more than four points clear of the second-place finisher.
The win also gave Guseli a start in the open event against the best riders in the world, including legendary fellow countryman Scotty James.
Guseli made his World Cup debut in January 2021 at the Laax Open, Switzerland, again in spectacular style. The then-15-year-old wowed the winter sports world by taking the top score in qualifying. In the final, the teenager finished in an impressive eighth place.
Two months later, Guseli took his World Championship bow in Aspen, USA, finishing in the 11th spot, narrowly missing out on the 10-man final.
If that wasn't enough for a first pro season, the day before his 16th birthday, Guseli broke Shaun White's world record for the highest air out of the pipe – 7.3m – which had stood for 11 years.
In early 2023 he set some new records, becoming the first rider in FIS Snowboard World Cup history to finish on the overall podium in Slopestyle, Halfpipe and Big Air in the same season as he secured the Park and Pipe overall crystal globe. He also became the first rider in World Cup history to secure podiums in all three events in the same season, finishing his campaign with two big air victories, two second-place finishes in halfpipe and a runner-up place in slopestyle.
In 2024, Guseli was back breaking records, when he became the holder of the highest snowboard air record. This took place at the Swatch Nines in Switzerland when Guseli flew a mammoth 11.5m high from the hip jump, breaking the old record set by Christian Haller in Italy in 2016.
Valentino Guseli launches a picture perfect Method Air
© Frederik Kalbermatten/Red Bull Content Pool
Fellow halfpipe legend Scotty James is a trusted mentor to Guseli
© Brett Hemmings/Red Bull Content Pool
Olympic snowboarder Valentino Guseli rips on snow and in the water
© Andrew Bibby/UNBNSURF
Valentino Guseli goes absolutely massive at Swatch NINES
© Klaus Polzer/Red Bull Content Pool