Anna Gasser’s win was her first on home soil in six years and came on an evening when women’s snowboarding reached a new height of progression, highlighted by Zoi Sadwoski-Synnott landing a switch backside 1260, and 15-year-old Mia Brookes stomping a flat-spin cab 1260 - the first time either trick has been stomped in women’s competition.

Anna Gasser brought her A-game as well, stomping the cab double cork 1260 melon that she first debuted in her gold medal-winning performance at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games last season, along with a frontside double cork 1080 Japan that is quickly becoming her new signature trick.

Add it all up and you’ve got a score of 179.75 for the winner, her 11th career World Cup victory, and a whole lot of happy Anna Gasser fans on hand in Kreischberg and around the world.

“I feel like especially at home you want to do good because there are so many people here to support me,” Gasser said after posing for what seemed like a thousand selfies with her fans, “My family was here watching and so many people supporting me and that makes this win so special for me. And with the level of competition tonight being super, super high, for sure this is one of the most beautiful wins of my career.”

Adding a backside 1080 Weddle grab to her switch backside 1260 Weddle, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott would finish just back of Anna Gasser with a two-jump score of 176.50, earning herself her seventh career World Cup podium in her first competition back since she also finished second behind Gasser at the Beijing 2022 big air event.

Finally, completing the repeat of the Beijing 2022 Olympic big air podium was Japan’s Kokomo Murase, who put down her own set of mind-blowing tricks with a backside 1260 nose grab and a frontside 1080 truck driver.

While Murase’s 174.50 points would be enough to get her on the podium in third place, those two points back of Zoi Sadowski-Synnott would end up having big consequences for Murase, as she would fall just short in her bed for a third career crystal globe.

Instead, it would be Murase’s teammate Iwabuchi just able to hold on to the yellow leader’s bib through to the end, as she finished eighth place on the day to remain 10 points ahead of Murase and claim the women’s big air globe.

“I was so nervous this week,” said Iwabuchi, whose globe win was the third of her big air career, “Everybody was riding at such a high level and I knew Coco (Murase) could also win the globe. I didn’t ride my best tonight, but I’m so happy I was still able to win another crystal globe.”

The final tally on the women’s big air World Cup rankings would see Iwabuchi on top with 192, Murase with 182, and Gasser jumping into third place with 180 points earned despite starting in just two of this season’s four World Cup competitions.