The youngest man ever to win a world cup event trains in Aspen. Late last month, snowboarder Chris Corning claimed the title at a competition in New Zealand. Aspen Public Radio’s Marci Krivonen has more.
Corning, 15, made history August 22nd when he grabbed first place in the slopestyle competition at the Audi Quattro Winter Games. Corning credits early practice in New Zealand.
"I got there August fourth, so I had a little time to get my feet under me and learn a new trick. I was feeling really confident," he says.
Corning lives in Silverthorne but trains in Aspen. This season will be his second with the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club. Miah Wheeler is the head snowboard coach at AVSC. He says the staff at the club is consistently attracting high caliber athletes.
"We’ve got a great number of athletes who move here for the winter to train with us. Besides the staff, we have some of the best parks and pipes in the world, we have a great relationship with the Aspen Skiing Company and we have great facilities.”
Wheeler says Corning’s run in New Zealand was impressive because he combined technical tricks with style. Another athlete who scored well young is freestyle skier Torin Yater-Wallace who trained with AVSC and grew up in the Valley.