Park City's Snowboarding Comeback: Olympic-Sized Halfpipe

0:00It's March 31st. Entertainment and celebrity news. Today starts now, AI powered in Spotlight Ready. I'm Cory with the story. Park City, Utah, is gearing up for a major snowboarding comeback. The snow league, started by three-time Olympic champ Sean White, just picked the resort as a key stop for its 2026-27 half-pipe. Season. This means an Olympic-sized half-pipe is returning to the town that launched snowboarding into the spotlight. Back in 2002, Park City hosted the Winter Olympics where the U.S. men swept the half-pipe medals. Ross Powers grabbed gold, Danny Cass took silver, and J.J. Thomas snagged bronze. Kelly Cart dominated the women's side with her own gold. Sean White called it a special moment since Park City has always been central to snowboarding and free skiing. But the U.S. has struggled lately, missing the Olympic podium in men's half-pipe since White's third gold in 2018. Japanese riders have risen fast, while fewer big-half-pipe stateside make training tough.

1:02Park City hasn't seen a 22-foot pipe since the 2019 World Championships. The event hits January 22nd through 24th, lining up with the Old Sundance Film Festival slot now shifting to Colorado. With 2034 Olympic snowboarding headed back there too, this reignites the fire for American shredders.