Mattsson and Anderson victorious in slopestyle season opener

Sweden's Niklas Mattsson claimed men's gold at the first snowboard World Cup slopestyle event of the season, in Laax, Switzerland.

The 28-year-old - a two-time World Championships silver medallist - had squeezed into the showpiece with a 12th-place finish in the semi-finals, but delivered his best form when it mattered.

A score of 84.28 was enough to earn Mattsson top spot in tricky conditions, ahead of Germany's Leon Vockensperger and Norway's Marcus Kleveland in second and third respectively.

Mattsson said: "I couldn't be more happy. I've had some tough times in Laax before so to come here and put in a winning performance is a dream come true.

"We were lucky to get some sun in the first run so that we were able to see something. It was hard in the second run to see where you were supposed to land, so to come through that was nice."

In the women's event, double Olympic champion Jamie Anderson soared to victory with a score of 84.35. New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott picked up silver, with Australia's Tess Coady completing the podium in third.

American Anderson said: "It was really fun out there. I love competing, I'd been hoping to put down that run and it felt great to get it right at the end."

Sportsbeat 2021