Another World Cup win for Harrington

Wānaka freeskier Luca Harrington has claimed back-to-back Freeski Big Air World Cup wins with his second career world cup victory, in Austria over the weekend.

The 20-year-old made history two weeks ago by becoming the first Kiwi to win a FIS Big Air World Cup and now he's done it again.

“This is absolutely incredible, I did not expect this to happen, it’s been such an honour to be here and to put down two runs again and walk away with the win is incredible” said Harrington.

Both victories showcased highly technical skill and utter precision both in the air and on his landings.

In his first run on Austria, he posted the highest single jump score of the day right off the bat putting down a flawless switch right triple corked 1620 esco grab and was awarded a huge 95.75 for his efforts. He immediately backed that up with the third highest score of the day (a 92.00) on his second run, stomping a right triple corked 1800 safety grab for a combined winning score of 187.75, nine points clear of his nearest competitor.

“I switched up my game plan today so I was a little unsure coming in, but I am glad I did it and I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me to this moment – my friends, my family, Hamish McDougall [Luca’s coach], Snow Sports New Zealand and all my sponsors, I wouldn’t be here without them. A huge shout out to Kreischberg for the awesome audience here tonight too.”

Harrington was joined on the podium by local hero Matej Svancer of Austria in second and Norway’s Leo Landroe in third.

Next up is the LAAX Open World Cup and switches gears to Freeski Slopestyle.

Meanwhile, ski racer Alice Robinson started 2025 with a bang, claiming the thirteenth World Cup podium of her career with a third place finish at the FIS Giant Slalom World Cup held in Slovenia last weekend. She was in action in Austria over the weekend, finishing 40th in the downhill and 11th in the Super G.