Already coming into Mammoth the World Cup leader after winning the first World Cup of her career two weeks ago in Laax, Ono stepped her game up once again on Saturday in Mammoth, attacking the pipe with a first run that would stand as the winner once all was said and done.

Opening things up on her winning run with a big switch frontside 720 Weddle, Ono would then go frontside 900 tail grab, into a backside 540 Weddle, then a frontside 720 indy, and finally a huge switch frontside 900 Weddle to finish things off for a score of 90.75 for her second career World Cup victory, hot on the heels of her first.

“It was difficult conditions today because of the wind,” Ono said just before the awards ceremony, “But I’m very happy to land my first run with my cab 900. So stoked to land that. And the Japanese team was really strong today. Ruka’s riding was cool. I’m so happy.”

Second place with a score of 86.75 for the women for the second year in a row went to the veteran Cai Xuetong of China - the 30th World Cup podium of her incredible career.

The 29-year-old Cai leads off her second run with a huge method, before going frontside 900 truck driver, backside 540 Weddle, air to fakie melon, cab 720 tail grab, and finally a super stylish alley-oop backside rodeo 540 to finish things off.

Rounding out the podium in third with a score of 82.00 was the USA’s own Maddie Mastro, who earned the 10th top-3 of her World Cup career in a third and final run that started with a big frontside 900 indy, into a backside 540 Weddle, then a frontside 720 indy, a Haakonflip melon, her signature double crippler indy, and finally a big ol’ method to finish things off.

Now with two wins and a second-place finish so far in 2022/23, Ono has a stranglehold atop the women’s halfpipe World Cup leaderboard, with 280 points to Queralt Castellet’s 179 - an 80-point lead with just one competition left to go, next week in Calgary.