Snowboarder Jaba Skhvediani sweeps gold in season-opening FIS competition

Georgian snowboarder Jaba Skhvediani has kicked off the 2019 season in style after claiming top spot in an International Ski Federation (FIS) competition in Kopaonik, Serbia on Thursday.

Skhvediani was first on the timing sheets for the snowboard slopestyle event that is customarily held on the mountain in the country’s south in early January.

One of first events of the 2019 season, the competition launched on Thursday and is set to conclude today after involving men and women athletes in slopestyle and big air categories.

The Georgian snowboarder improved on his previous result in Kopaonik with the victory. Photo: Jaba Skhvediani on Facebook.

The Serbian winter resort is a successful spot for Skhvediani, 23, who finished in top four in a FIS competition at the location in 2017.

The Georgian athlete’s recent entries include a FIS slopestyle at Switzerland’s Glacier 3000 and a Europa Cup contest in Landgraaf, the Netherlands.

Skhvediani has also competed in a World Snowboard Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain and in World Championships Qualifying rounds.

The snowboarder’s first FIS event took place in Erzurum, Turkey in 2016, while the Sierra Nevada contest was his maiden World Championships appearance.