Gnarly kid Valentino Guseli sets a new world record in the LAAX superpipe! The snowboard world has a new record to celebrate: the 15-year-old Aussie Valentino Guseli jumps 7.3 meters over the coping at the superpipe in LAAX on March 31, 2021. He thus breaks the previous record of 7 meters set in 2010 by the American multiple Olympic champion Shaun White.

That Valentino Guseli is capable of great things has already become apparent at the LAAX OPEN 2021. At his very first World Cup contest in LAAX, the 15-year-old Australian caused the sensation of the day in the halfpipe qualification: He achieved the highest score in the first heat with 95 points, beating top favorites such as two-time LAAX OPEN winner Scotty James.

Guseli, who has been spending his winters in LAAX and training here for five years, knows the superpipe – as it is called because of its dimensions – inside out. And what better venue for setting a world record than the largest halfpipe in the world? "I've had the idea of breaking the world record for a pretty long time. I just always wanted to go as big as possible. The day was perfect and the conditions were good, so we just decided to send it," Valentino Guseli tells.

And so he dropped into the superpipe on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 and already surpassed the 7-meter mark after just a few attempts. But he wanted to set the bar a little higher and, after a few more attempts, reached 7.3 meters. With this he breaks the record of the American snowboard legend Shaun White set in 2010. Until 2021, his record of 7 meters remained untouched for 11 years.

Image: ©LAAX / Ruggli