Japanese snowboarder Tsubaki Miki won the women's parallel giant slalom Sunday, the first day of the FIS Freestyle Ski, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships.
The 19-year-old seized her first world title by beating Austria's Daniela Ulbing in the final. Poland's Aleksandra Krol won the small final to finish third.
Miki's victory was Japan's best result in a snowboard alpine event at the worlds or the Olympics. Tomoka Takeuchi, who won Olympic silver in 2014, was ninth on Sunday.
"I didn't think much about it (being the first), but I've achieved something I can be proud of," Miki said.
"I'm incredibly happy if I could show that at 19 I could take on the world even in a sport whose main battlegrounds are in Europe."
Miki, who competed at last year's Beijing Olympics, has reached three career World Cup podiums, but failed to finish in the top three in any of her races this season.
The worlds will wrap up on March 5.
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