These are the women who shaped snowboarding: the pioneers who built the sport, the Olympic champions who pushed it forward, and the young riders landing tricks no one had tried before. They are grouped by era and discipline.
The Pioneers
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Tina Basich: An original member of the Sims team and a top halfpipe rider through the late '80s and '90s. She co-founded Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC), a non-profit that raises money and awareness for breast cancer prevention.
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Shannon Dunn-Downing: A halfpipe pioneer and the first woman to land a frontside 720, McTwist and frontside rodeo 720 in competition. In 1994 she became the first woman with a pro model snowboard, with Sims. She co-founded B4BC with Basich.
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Karine Ruby: The most decorated female snowboarder in FIS World Cup history, with 29 medals including 20 golds. The French rider dominated parallel giant slalom and snowboard cross. She won Olympic giant slalom gold at Nagano in 1998, the first year snowboarding was in the Olympics, and silver in 2002. She died in a mountaineering accident in 2009.
The Halfpipe Icons
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Kelly Clark: Won halfpipe gold at Salt Lake City in 2002, the first American to win Olympic gold in snowboarding. She added bronze in 2010 and 2014, making her one of only four snowboarders with three Olympic medals. She also won more than a dozen X Games medals and seven US Open titles. Her powerful, consistent riding set the standard for two decades.
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Hannah Teter: A halfpipe rider from Vermont who won Olympic gold at Turin in 2006 and silver at Vancouver in 2010. She also won X Games gold in 2003 and six World Cup events. Her charity, Hannah's Gold, sells Vermont maple syrup to support communities in Kenya.
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Torah Bright: Australia's most successful Winter Olympian. She won halfpipe gold at Vancouver in 2010 and silver in 2014. At Sochi in 2014 she became the first Olympic snowboarder to qualify in halfpipe, slopestyle and snowboard cross. She also has two X Games golds and two US Open titles.
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Chloe Kim: The dominant halfpipe rider of today. At 17 she became the youngest woman to win Olympic halfpipe gold, at PyeongChang in 2018. In Beijing in 2022 she became the first woman to win it twice in a row. She has eight X Games golds, the most of any woman in superpipe. She was the first woman to land back-to-back 1080s in competition and, in 2024, the first to land a 1260. In January 2025 she landed the first cab double cork 1080 in a halfpipe contest. She is the first snowboarder to hold Olympic, World Championship, X Games and Youth Olympic titles at the same time.
The Slopestyle and Big Air Legends
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Jamie Anderson: The queen of slopestyle, from South Lake Tahoe. She has more X Games medals and more Olympic medals than any other female snowboarder, including slopestyle gold at Sochi in 2014 and PyeongChang in 2018. Her riding is smooth and creative, and she is known for her focus on sustainable living.
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Anna Gasser: An Austrian big air and slopestyle rider and the first woman to land a cab triple underflip in competition. She won Olympic big air gold in 2018 and 2022, and finished eighth at Milano Cortina in 2026. Other riders credit her as the biggest force behind women's freestyle progression. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott said: "If I could name the one person who has had the biggest impact on snowboarding, it would be Anna Gasser."
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Zoi Sadowski-Synnott: New Zealand's most successful Winter Olympian, competing in slopestyle and big air. At Beijing in 2022 she won slopestyle gold, her country's first Winter Olympic gold, plus big air silver. She added big air silver at Milano Cortina in 2026, for four Olympic medals. She is a three-time slopestyle World Champion (2019, 2021, 2025) and was the first woman to land a switch backside 900 in competition. In 2025 she became the first woman to land a triple cork in a slopestyle run.
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Hailey Langland: An American slopestyle and big air rider. She landed the first double cork 1080 by a woman in a slopestyle contest, which raised the bar for everyone.
The Snowboard Cross Queen
- Lindsey Jacobellis: The most decorated snowboard cross rider of all time, male or female. She is a five-time Olympian, six-time World Champion and ten-time X Games gold medalist. At Turin in 2006 she lost the gold after a celebratory grab near the finish. She waited 16 years and three more Olympics before winning two golds at Beijing in 2022, individual and mixed team. She retired from Olympic competition in 2025 after the birth of her first child.
The New Wave
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Kokomo Murase: A Japanese rider who won big air gold at Milano Cortina in 2026 with a score of 179, landing two triple cork 1440s. She won big air bronze at Beijing in 2022 and also competes in slopestyle.
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Mia Brookes: A British slopestyle and big air rider. In 2023, at 16, she became World Champion and the first woman to land a cab 1440. She won X Games slopestyle gold in 2024 and 2025, and finished fourth in the 2026 Olympic big air final after trying a 1620. Many consider her one of the best slopestyle riders in the world.
Honorary Mention
- Terje Haakonsen: Not a woman, but he belongs here. Terje boycotted the Olympics and pushed for competitions judged by riders. That shift rewarded style and progression, and helped women who had often been judged on different criteria than men.
Their Legacy
These riders did more than win medals. They opened the sport to more women and girls, and many used their fame to support causes like breast cancer research, the environment and mental health.
Tips for Women Getting into Snowboarding
- Take lessons. A good instructor gives you safe technique from day one.
- Find people to ride with. Women's clinics and riding groups are a good way to meet them.
- Find a role model. Watching riders you admire shows you what's possible.
- Push yourself, at your own pace. Try one new thing each day on the mountain.