World Cup wins for Kokubo, Bright

Kazuhiro Kokubo of Japan and Australia's Torah Jane Bright were the winners in the second halfpipe of the World Cup snowboarding season on Thursday at the Swiss resort of Saas-Fee.

Mathieu Crepel didn't have the best first run, earning a mark of just 18.0. But the Frenchman came up with an array of successful tricks in his last outing, producing various turns and stuns in his run. He stormed back to win 43.8 points, which eventually earned him a second place finish, and a 800 points in the overall standings.

Kazuhiro Kokubo had claimed third place at the season-opener in Cardrona - but this time around it was gold for the Japanese competitor. He earned a total of 46.1 points from the five judges with a breathtaking first run, before crashing on his second. It didn't matter though, as Kokubo moved 600 points clear at the top of the overall standings with 1600 points.

In the women's event, Chinese snowboarder Cai Xuetong lived up to expectations. Cai steadily completed her routines with several impressive turns to collect 40.8 points, which saw her snatch 800 points in overall standings for coming second. This is one of the best finishes for Cai this season.

But top honours would go to Torah Jane Bright. The 22-year-old Australian turned out scores of 43.2 and 43.5 in her two runs, either of which would have been good enough for first place. Bright's 1000-point haul saw her draw level with another Chinese Liu Jiayu.