Kiwi Olympic medallist freeskier Nico Porteous has finished the year on a high, winning the first World Cup medal of his career.
The 17-year-old won a silver in the freestyle halfpipe competition at the Secret Garden Resort - the venue for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games.
This was the second halfpipe World Cup of the 2018/19 season, after the season-opener at Copper Mountain, USA, where Miguel Porteous - Nico's older brother - also claimed a silver medal and his first World Cup podium.
Nico landed an 88.00 on his first run of three, but Canadian Simon D'Artois was also pushing hard and scored a 91.25
The Wanaka resident improved to an 89.50 on the second run, but D'Artois had raised the stakes with a score of 92.00.
With more to do on his third run, Nico went for a 1440 on the final hit, but could not quite get there, finishing with a 1260. This was not enough to push his score up any further, while the Canadian increased to 93.50, claiming a gold medal and the World Cup leader's yellow bib.
"I am over the moon," said Nico Porteous. "I didn't land the run I wanted, but the second run was good and I'm super stoked.
"It's a really good day, super good result. I had a goal this season to get a World Cup podium, so to do that at the second event of the year is incredible.
"This has been the best year of my life so far, nothing could really top it."
American skier Hunter Hess finished in third place, while Miguel Porteous was sixth, scoring 78.00 on his first run, but then passing his second or third runs, feeling a tweak to his knee and subsequently undergoing a medical assessment.
Newshub.
