ASPEN, CO – The screen showing the slopestyle competition cut to black for the biggest trick of the day.Jake Canter made sure it would live on replays for a long time.
The 22-year-old landed a 1980 backside twist — although spectators were momentarily left in the dark — and finished his second run clean Saturday in the men’s finals at the 2026 U.S. Grand Prix. The judges rewarded him with the top score of 85.16 to take home first and lock up his spot (one of four) on the men’s slopestyle/big air Olympic team.
Canter, of course, had no idea everybody near the finish line was left feeling like they relived the finale of “The Sopranos.”
“I remember landing it so clearly,” said Canter, who hadn’t tried the 1980 in two months. “It felt crazy.”He spent a lot of autumn trying to figure out the 1980 – an extra half-revolution (180 degrees) from the more common 1800, which he hit during his first run. Stepping it up in the second run landed him atop the podium.
Like many of his teammates, Canter has his own comeback story. A trampoline accident when he was 16 resulted in a traumatic brain injury. He spent weeks in a hospital, and after he awoke from a coma, he passed the time watching snowboarding videos.
