Australian snowboarder Scotty James won the men's halfpipe world title in Austria on Saturday as two-time Olympic medallist Torah Bright finished sixth in the women's event won by Cai Xuetong of China.
James earned 91.50 points in his first run of the final.
As that score remained unmatched by his competitors, James was already assured of the gold medal before his final run, which he used to exchange high fives with spectators along the pipe.
"It's been such a crazy journey the last couple of years and I'm absolutely over the moon right now," he said.
"It feels like it has been a long time coming but today I guess it all worked out for me.
"I'm really happy right now and to do it for Australia is even better."
The 20-year-old from Melbourne has been competing international since the age of 14.
Zhang Yiwei of China won silver with 89.50, and Tim-Kevin Ravnjak of Slovenia took bronze with 89.25.
Defending world and Olympic champion Iouri Podladtchikov of Switzerland placed fourth in his first event since undergoing ankle surgery seven weeks ago.
Cai won the women's event with 94.25 points ahead of Queralt Castellet of Spain (81.25) and Clemence Grimal of France (80.25).
Bright had qualified third but compiled only 57 points to finish last in the six-woman final, having had limited preparation after taking a break following last February's Olympic Games in Sochi.
Bright won Olympic gold in Vancouver in 2010 and silver in Sochi.
The next medal event of the snowboard and freestyle skiing world championships is the moguls on Sunday.
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