Korean snowboarder wins halfpipe title at Junior World Championships

South Korean snowboarder Cho Hyeon-min has won the men's halfpipe title at the International Ski Federation Junior World Championships in Switzerland.

Cho, 15, scored 240 points in the halfpipe final event staged in Laax, Switzerland, on Monday (local time) and finished first among 18 competitors. He beat American snowboarder Toby Miller by 48 points. Chase Blackwell of the United States was third with a score of 144 points. 

In this undated photo provided by the Korea Ski Association, South Korean snowboarder Cho Hyeon-min (4th from right) poses for a photo with other athletes after their training. (Yonhap)

Cho is the second South Korean to win a halfpipe gold medal at the junior worlds after Kweon Lee-jun first topped the podium in 2015.

Cho, who start snowboarding at age 2, is one of the top snowboard prospects selected by the Korea Ski Association.

Since 2015, he has been receiving abundant support from the KSA, including overseas training and lessons from foreign coaches.

The KSA sees Cho as one of the medal hopefuls for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. (Yonhap)