X Games Aspen 2021 DAILY UPDATE Saturday, January 30, 2021 Issue #2

Contents Quotable ...... 1 SNOWBOARD ...... 1 Women’s Final ...... 1 Knuckle Huck Final ...... 4 Men’s Slopestyle Preview ...... 5 Women’s Big Air Preview ...... 6 Women’s SuperPipe Preview ...... 8 SKI ...... 9 Women’s SuperPipe Final ...... 9 Men’s SuperPipe Final ...... 11 Women’s Big Air Final ...... 14 Women’s Slopestyle Preview ...... 16 Men’s Big Air Preview ...... 18

Quotable

“I just wanted to have one medal and I thought that was super ambitious for my first . My mind is absolutely blown. I can’t believe it.”

-- Eileen Gu, after winning Women’s Ski SuperPipe gold. It was her second medal in her first ever day of X Games competitions -- she earned bronze in Big Air about 5 hours earlier.

SNOWBOARD

Women’s Slopestyle Final Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Colin Bane

Gold: Jamie Anderson Silver: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott Bronze:

Anderson Extends Her Record • Jamie Anderson didn’t expect to find herself taking a Run 4 victory lap. She dropped to her knees in celebration at the top of the course when she realized she’d won on the strength of her very first run. She actually improved on it in the victory lap, adding a massive backside rodeo stalefish from the quarterpipe hip jump feature on her final hit that the judges loved.

• Anderson, the oldest in the field at 30, got her first medal in the discipline (bronze) in 2006 at age 15 -- literally half her life ago. She earned her first Slopestyle gold the following year. After her victory lap she told reporter Jonathan “DC” Oetken, “I’m speechless I’m so grateful.”

• Anderson is now the oldest Snowboard Slopestyle gold medalist (male or female) and youngest woman Snowboard Slopestyle gold medalist (age 16, 2007) in X Games history. • Her 7th Slopestyle gold extends her record for most X Games Slopestyle gold man or woman, Ski or Snowboard. For comparison: , Mark McMorris and skier Kaya Turski each have 5.

• Anderson is now No. 2 for most gold of any woman at X Games, behind snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis (10). She’s tied with snowboarder and Aggressive In- Line skater Fabiola da Silva (7 each). • Her 18th career medal extends her record for most medals of any woman at X Games. She could make it 19 in Saturday’s SBD Big Air (she currently owns 2 bronze in the discipline).

Third Slopestyle Medal for The Kiwi • Switch backside 900 Indy and backside 900 Weddle grab helped 2-time Slopestyle gold medalist Zoi Sadowski-Synnott add silver to her collection. She moved from the bronze to silver medal position with her final run. • She now owns 4 X Games medals from 5 appearances (she also owns Aspen 2019 Big Air silver). She competes in Big Air on Saturday.

Second Slopestyle Medal for Blouin • Canadian Laurie Blouin landed the only frontside double cork 1080 of the contest (Run 4) and was briefly in silver medal position. • She now owns 4 X Games medals from 5 appearances (including her Aspen 2020 Slopestyle silver, Aspen 2019 Big Air gold and 2020 Big Air bronze). She will compete in Big Air on Saturday.

Tough Course Makes for Tough Day • owns X Games Norway 2017 Slopestyle gold. Admire her courage, question her strategy. Gasser wanted to land a backside double cork 1080. She attempted it in all 4 runs, but she only landed it once…and then she fell on a 540 further down the course. She failed to complete a full-pull run.

• Kokomo Murase was a podium favorite coming into the event, but a right ankle injury from Thursday night’s Big Air practice hobbled her. The 2-time Slopestyle medalist (Aspen and Norway 2020) decided to compete, and she landed 900s in several of her runs. But she was nowhere near throwing the double cork 1080s and double cork 1260 she had hoped to bring to the contest.

• Hailey Langland crashed hard in warm-up just minutes before the start of the competition. She was evaluated by X Games Medical and transported for further evaluation, then released later in the day after being treated for left elbow dislocation.

• Langland’s drop put German teen Annika Morgan, 17, in as a literally last-minute alternate. She finished 8th but impressed on the rails with a frontside noseblunt slide to 270 pretzel combo in multiple runs.

Format: 35-minute jam session. Best run counts, ranked 1-8. Gold: Jamie Jamie’s Run 1 pass was good enough for gold: backside lipslide on down- Anderson flat kink rail, tailslide to fakie on rainbow rail, Cab 270 gap to boardslide on down rail, Cab double cork 900 Weddle grab, slow-spinning frontside 540 truck driver, switch backside 180 Indy on transition jump, alley-oop See the Runs backside 720 stalefish.

Judges felt her victory lap in Run 4 was even better: she did essentially the same run but upgraded the final hit to a massive backside rodeo stalefish.

Silver: Zoi Her last pass, Run 4, was her best: She moved up from bronze to silver Sadowski-Synnott with the effort. Her two 900s made the difference: 50-50 gap transfer to boardslide, boardslide to fakie, switch frontside boardslide 270 out, switch backside 900 Indy, backside 900 Weddle grab (hand touch on the landing), huge Cab 540 underflip from the first transition jump, crippler from the final transition feature.

Bronze: Laurie Her Run 4 pass briefly put her in silver medal position: Cab 180 to 50- Blouin 50, frontside boardslide, boardslide to fakie, Cab double underflip Weddle, frontside double cork 1080, crippler, frontside 360.

4. Julia Marino After struggling on the course all week, and with falls in 3 of 4 runs, Julia seemed as surprised as anyone to be in podium position for much of the contest. Run 2 was her best pass: boardslide on down-flat kink rail, frontside boardslide up cannon rail to fakie, Cab to backside 360 out, backside 900 melon, Cab double underflip Weddle, crippler, alley-oop frontside 360 (no grab).

5. Kokomo Murase Evaluated for a right ankle injury the night before and the morning of the contest, and clearly not feeling 100 on it. Her best pass was Run 2: boardslide kink, noseslide pretzel up rail, switch boardlside 270 out, cab 5 Weddle, front 5 Indy, switch back 180 Indy, alley-oop backside 900 no grab Weddle (bumps to 3rd).

6. Reira Iwabuchi Falls on the last jump in all 4 passes, and analyst Craig McMorris was blunt: “I’ve got to be honest with you, this quarterpipe has just been mean.” Run 4 was her best pass: 50-50 gap transfer to 50-50, 50-50 up Cannon rail, frontside 180 on to switch 50-50 to switch backside 360 out, Cab 900 stalefish, backside 1080 Weddle, fall attempting an alley-oop frontside 360 from the final transition jump feature.

7. Anna Gasser The backside double cork 1080 melon she landed in Run 3 was a sign of the fireworks she’d hoped to bring, but she fell in all 4 passes (including three times on that double cork 1080). Run 2 was her best: boardslide tap on “doghouse” rail feature, 50-50 to backside 180 out, switch boardslide to regular, frontside boardslide 270 out, backside double cork 1080 melon (sat down briefly), skipped jump 2, switch backside 180 Indy from left quarterpipe, crippler from right quarterpipe.

8. Annika Morgan In the contest on a minute’s notice after Hailey Langland’s crash in warm-ups just before the scheduled start of the contest, the 17-year-old had her best pass in Run 4. boardslide 50-50 to backside 360 out, noseslide to pretzel out, Cab 540 Weddle, backside 720 Weddle, fall on final jump.

Knuckle Huck Final Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Colin Bane

Gold: Dusty Henricksen

You Win Knuckle Huck, And You Win Knuckle Huck, And… • Rookie Dusty Henricksen, 17, became the 4th unique gold medalist in the short history of SBD Knuckle Huck. Henricksen used inverted tricks including a fakie nose- press nollie Cab 540 underflip and a Cab 180 tail-press melon to frontflip as well as a stylish layback hand drag to pretzel backside 180. The rookie is also a podium threat in Slopestyle and Big Air.

• The Mammoth Lakes, CA, native joins the Knuckle Huck gold club that also includes Aspen 2019 gold medalist Fridtjof “Fridge” Sæther Tischendorf, Aspen 2020 gold medalist Zeb Powell and Norway 2020 gold medalist Marcus Kleveland.

Loosey Goosey • The contest, in true Knuckle Huck style, was incredibly loose. So loose that the judges didn’t formally rank the rest of the field.

• Marcus Kleveland had several falls (and was later evaluated by X Games Medical for a chest contusion), but also had the most impressive single trick of the contest, with his fakie Ollie Cab 720 to Cab 900 in Run 5.

• Jake Canter impressed with a frontside 180 butter to switch backside 540 hand drag in Run 1, a backside 180 to Cab 720 in Run 2, a Cab 180 nollie backside rodeo, and a Cab 180 to backside 900 tailgrab. Jake is the youngest male competing at X Games Aspen 2021 (17 yrs. 6 mos.).

• Jamie Anderson sent one of the deepest airs of the night in Run 1, coming in way too fast for a butter 180 hand drag to backside 360 that sent her nearly to the flat but that she somehow rode out of. The first woman to compete in Ski or Snowboard Knuckle Huck, she impressed. She also landed a hand drag backside 540 and a backside 180 hand drag.

More contest highlights: • A stalefish Miller flip hand drag from Sebbe de Buck. • A method air 180 hand drag from Fridge in Run 2 (after crashing though the safety fence at the bottom of the course on his first attempt). • A backside 1080 from Lyon Farrell after managing a skate-style 50-50 on a side wall at the top of the course.

• And Ryo Aizawa running lines that were absolutely not intended to be part of the Knuckle Huck course. He zig-zagged all over the place to do boardslides, wallrides, Andrecht handplants, and backside Ollies on various elements of the Slopestyle course and the backside of the SuperPipe. At one point he completely shook off the camera operator following him.

Format: 20-minute jam session. Rank based on overall impression. Gold: Dusty The rookie came out strong with a butter 180 up top to set up for a fakie Henricksen nose-press to nollie Cab underflip 540, with a late shifty.

Watch the Runs He fell on Run 2 attempting something similar, seemed like he wanted to clean it up.

Run 3 was the judges’ favorite: Half Cab tailpress melon, popping into a front flip.

In Run 4 he landed a layback hand drag to pretzel backside 180 out. He finished in Run 5 with a Cab 180 tailpress melon to front flip.

Men’s Slopestyle Preview Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Colin Bane

USA! USA! USA! • If the ever had a chance to end a 12 year, 14 event X Games gold medal drought in Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Aspen 2021 is it. The past three gold medalists -- the Canadian Slopestyle powerhouse trio of Mark McMorris (5 gold), Max Parrot (2 gold) and Darcy Sharpe (Aspen 2020 gold) -- are absent in 2021. The path to American gold in the discipline is significantly less complicated.

• The last time an American won Men's SBD Slopestyle? Shaun White, with a record- setting 5th win in the discipline at...XG Aspen 2009. That's a 12-year gap, with 14 Slopestyle contests in the span!

• XG Aspen 2020 bronze medalist , 20, ended a U.S. podium drought in the discipline dating back to 2012. Next stop? The top of the podium. And let’s not sell Gerard short: The Kid has the chops to win regardless of who’s in the field.

• Gerard has been a slopestyle slayer outside of X Games, with a resume that now includes , U.S. Open and World Cup wins, as well as Olympic gold from the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. But he still needs X Games gold as the cherry on top. • He was rocking it in practice all week long on a course that seems almost purpose- built to suit his style (he’s an expert on the tech shark fin features). “This course is super, super, fun,” he says. “I’ve been having so much fun in practice with everybody that it’s easy to forget we’re here for a contest.”

• He’s showing no signs at all that the August 2020 right knee meniscus reconstruction surgery that kept him off his board until earlier this month is slowing him down. He could be good for gold.

More Americans! • Rookie Dusty Henricksen, 17, is coming in hot after a win at the 2020 FIS World Cup / U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain and a stunner of a 2nd place run at the 2020 Burton U.S. Open that included a stomped backside quadruple cork 1800 (nobody has landed a quad in a Slopestyle run at X Games). BREAKING NEWS! Henricksen won Knuckle Huck gold on Friday night, his first medal in his first X Games competition start. Can Henricksen become the first snowboarder to win two gold in a rookie appearance?

• Lyon Farrell, 22, makes his sophomore appearance (14th at XG Aspen 2020) with a family legacy to live up to: his mom, Angela Cochran, won Windsurfing gold at the very first X Games in 1995.

• Judd Henkes, 19, has landed on three FIS World Cup slopestyle podiums in the last three years. 5th at XG Aspen 2020 is his best finish from three Slopestyle starts, but he’s a podium threat.

The Spoilers

These formidable riders could stand in the way of American gold.

• Mons Røisland (NOR) has landed on 2 of the 3 most recent X Games Slopestyle podiums (silver at Aspen 2020, bronze at Aspen 2019) by bringing some of the most technical and stylish tricks in the field in both the rails and the jumps. He’s a rider who sometimes sneaks up on us, but this year we see him coming: watch for his switch backside double cork 1620 tailgrab.

• Two-time Slopestyle gold medalist Marcus Kleveland (NOR) is officially back in action and has looked great in practice all week, throwing triple corks at every opportunity. Though the shattered right knee injury that kept him out of competition in 2019 appears to be fully healed, he was evaluated for a chest contusion injury on Friday night following a crash in the Knuckle Huck contest.

• Sven Thorgren (SWE) owns Slopestyle gold (Norway 2017) and bronze (Aspen 2015). Don’t count him out. • Even with the Canadian dream team out of the mix, Canada could still thwart the American contingent: Sebastien Toutant hasn’t been on the Slopestyle podium since his bronze at Aspen 2017, but here’s a reminder that he’s a two-time gold medalist in the discipline (Aspen 2011, Tignes 2013).

Women’s Big Air Preview Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Colin Bane

Legend Status • Big Air gold at XG Norway 2020 brought Anna Gasser even with women’s pioneer Barrett Christy for most gold (3) and most medals (5) in the discipline. Christy set those marks by 2001. Gasser is the clear favorite at Aspen 2021. “On the podium or last is my strategy,” she says. “I always try to go for it.”

• Gasser has first-in-women’s-competition tricks in mind: the Cab double cork 1260 she learned in 2019 and the Cab triple underflip she first landed in 2018 (making her the first -- and so far only -- woman in action sports to land a triple of any kind) and has landed again more recently, in November 2020.

• She made four unsuccessful attempts at the Cab triple underflip at XG Aspen 2020, including two of the most spectacular crashes of the night. If and when she lands it, it will be the biggest trick from any woman in competition history.

• But she’s trying to keep expectations in check, including her own, and didn’t try any spins bigger than double cork 900s in practice this week. “I like this jump, but I know that it’s snowing tomorrow, and I know the mistakes I made last season with trying to send it in harsh speed conditions. That’s why I’m taking it more mellow this year. I’m just going to see how I feel tomorrow.”

Putting the Big in Big Air • Snow Park Technologies’ lead designer Chris Castaneda says the jump itself is nearly identical in height (15-ft.) and in most other dimensions to the Aspen 2020 Big Air course, but it’s narrower (24-ft., compared to 35-ft. in 2020) and has a much narrower landing zone (54-ft., compared to 80-ft. in 2020). That combination means riders are hitting it pretty much straight-on. Expect less carving on the face of the jump and bigger, straighter, deeper sends as a result.

Repeat Japanese Sweep? • Riders and coaches (and Research staff!) assumed that combining the Big Air jump into the final feature of the Slopestyle course this year -- rather than as the separate venue it’s always been at XG Aspen -- would make for a smaller jump. Nope. “This thing is massive,” says Miyabi Onitsuka, who led the first-ever Japanese podium sweep in X Games history at Aspen 2020 after landing a first-for-her backside double cork 1260. “It actually feels bigger than last year. It is scary at first!”

• Kokomo Murase, 16, the Big Air silver medalist from both the XG Aspen 2020 Japanese podium sweep and XG Norway 2020, was evaluated for a right ankle injury by the Japanese national team’s own medical staff on site on Thursday, after a fall early in practice. She competed in Slopestyle on Friday, finishing 5th, and skipped Big Air practice Friday night.

• The teen Big Air prodigy made history at 13 with a first-in-women’s competition double cork 1260. She became the youngest-ever winter discipline medalist in her XG Norway 2018 rookie win. Before her ankle injury, she was aiming for double cork 1260s in at least two directions, but it now seems unlikely. Stay tuned. Alternate Annika Morgan, 18, rode in both practice sessions, just in case.

• XG Aspen 2020 bronze medalist Reira Iwabuchi came close to landing the Cab double cork 1260 on several attempts in Thursday’s practice, but she took it easier in training on Friday night. It would be her first double 12 if she brings it to the contest and, if she does it before Anna Gasser gets hers, a women’s competition first. Before Murase brought double cork 1260s to the game, Iwabuchi’s backside double cork 1080 was the peak of women’s progression, helping her earn silver at Aspen 2018 (and bronze at Aspen 2020 to round out that Japanese sweep).

The Trifecta • Big Air is the third of three events for Jamie Anderson. She won gold in Slopestyle on Friday morning and had a blast as the first woman to compete in Knuckle Huck on Friday night. • Though Anderson owns 7 Slopestyle titles, Big Air gold has been elusive: She owns two bronze medals from her 8 Big Air starts, most recently at XG Aspen 2019. And it’s not for a lack of trying: she’s had some rough crashes with her frontside 1080 (she landed it in her 4th place performance at XG Norway 2020) and her newer Cab double cork 1080 (falls on two attempts at XG Norway 2020).

• Jamie skipped most of the Big Air practice time on both Thursday and Friday night, so Big Air gold doesn’t seem to be something she’s stressing this time around.

Gold Club: 4 of the 8 competitors are previous Big Air gold medalists: • Anna Gasser (3): Aspen 2018, Norway 2019, Norway 2020 • Miyabi Onitsuka: Aspen 2020 • Laurie Blouin: Aspen 2019 • Kokomo Murase: Norway 2018

Women’s SuperPipe Preview Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Colin Bane

Chloe Kim Is Back! • We can’t say it enough: the return of to competitive snowboarding is a very big deal. She’s podium-perfect at X Games, with 7 medals from 7 starts (5 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze, all earned as a teenager). And though she last competed at X Games in 2019, the year off she took to begin her studies at Princeton University doesn’t seem to have affected her snowboarding.

• She skipped the first practice on Tuesday night to sort out a luggage mishap from Switzerland (where she easily won the World Cup Laax Open, her first contest since March 2019, the week before X Games). By Wednesday she had her gear sorted out and was casually blasting in the pipe, all smiles. By Thursday she was throwing 1080s, but didn’t push too hard. If she’s planning to bring her back-to-back 1080s to the contest or the double cork 1080 that she landed in practice at XG Aspen 2019 but still hasn’t brought to competition, she’s keeping it to herself.

• And the truth is she could probably win whether she does or doesn’t. That’s how dominant she is. Either way, she skipped practice on Friday night to rest up for the big show.

Doubling Up • The other big trick to watch for? Maddie Mastro has landed her double crippler in competition outside of X Games, at both the 2020 U.S. Grand Prix Mammoth Mountain and in her winning 2020 Burton U.S. Open run. She came close in one of her four attempts at Aspen 2020 and has landed it several times this week in X Games practice. It’s coming.

The Defender

• Queralt Castellet struck X Games gold for the first time at Aspen 2020, after taking silver at Aspen 2019. She doesn’t expect to win again with Chloe back in the field and Maddie at the top of her game, but she’s not sweating it. “My medals these last two years are the result of a lot of hard work and a good progression, and I've been enjoying being on that path no matter what others are doing,” she says. “All I want to do is enjoy every minute of it tomorrow and have a blast.”

• She has a new ally on that path for 2021: after 5 years training with Benny Bright (’s brother and former coach), she’s now being coached by snowboard legend Danny Kass, who has been on hand all week at the bottom of the pipe. Kass competed at X Games from 2001-2010, collecting 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze in SuperPipe (and 2 silver, 1 bronze in Slopestyle). He now coaches for the Ski & Snowboard Club Vail here in Colorado, where he recently brought her into the program. “I’ve learned so much from Benny, infinite. Now it’s great to hear a new voice of knowledge with so much history in snowboarding.”

Japan on the Rise • An all-Japan podium is a long shot with Chloe Kim on the roster, but here's a reminder that Kurumi Imai and Haruna Matsumoto took silver and bronze behind Castellet at Aspen 2020. This year they'll be joined by rookie Ruki Tomita, who surprised in 3rd at the 2020 Burton U.S. Open and is a legit podium threat. • If it happened, it would be the 2nd Japanese sweep in X Games history (and the second in two years): Miyabi Onitsuka, Kokomo Murase and Reira Iwabuchi did it in Women's SBD Big Air at XG Aspen 2020.

The Future • American Sonora "Sonny" Alba, 14, is the youngest athlete competing at XG Aspen 2021. In November 2020, the 8th grader was named to the 2020-21 U.S. Snowboard Pro Halfpipe Team alongside Chloe Kim, Maddie Mastro and . While not a podium threat this year, give her some time and let the record show that her coach at the bottom of the pipe in practice this week, Mammoth Ski & Snowboard Team director Ben Wisner, is the same coach who brought up Chloe and Maddie early in their careers.

• Canadian Brooke D’Hondt, 15, finished 6th in SuperPipe as a rookie at XG Aspen 2020. She won the 2019 Burton U.S. Open Junior Jam. She has the amplitude, if not the tricks, to put on a good show.

SKI

Women’s SuperPipe Final Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Nicole Dreon

Gold: Eileen Gu, CHN Silver: Cassie Sharpe, CAN Bronze: Rachael Karker, CAN

Kind of a Big Deal: Eileen Gu • Eileen Gu was a hot choice to medal at X Games Aspen 2021. She’s exceeded expectations and is quickly becoming a star. The only rookie in a Ski discipline at Aspen 2021 (and the youngest skier on the roster), Gu landed the hardest run ever attempted in X Games Women’s Ski SuperPipe. She was rewarded with gold.

• All four of Gu’s runs were good enough for gold. Runs 1 and 4 included back-to-back right and left 900s and a switch 720 Japan grab. • Gu is the first rookie ever to win X Games Ski SuperPipe (men’s or women’s). She’s also the first athlete representing China to win X Games gold. She’s going to be a very big deal.

• Gu medaled four hours earlier in Big Air (bronze) when she made her X Games debut. If she medals in Saturday’s Slopestyle contest she will be the first woman rookie to earn three medals at one X Games.

Sharpe Earns Silver, Best Trick • With silver, Canada’s Cassie Sharpe claimed her 5th SuperPipe medal, the most of any woman on the roster. • Her left 1260 tailgrab at the start of her run and corked out leftside 1080 tail grab to finish it were the two best tricks of the night. But she needed more difficult tricks in the middle of her run for gold, and she also was lacking tricks in her unnatural direction. • Sharpe fell hard on the 1260 on her third run and was evaluated by Medical for a left knee injury. She was taken off the course on a sled but did return to accept her silver medal at the podium presentation.

Rachael Karker Earns Bronze • With her awesome amplitude, Karker earned her third SuperPipe medal in three attempts. She now has 2 bronze, 1 silver.

Defending Champ Sildaru Misses Comp • Defending SuperPipe gold medalist injured her left knee earlier in the day during the warm up for Big Air. She pulled out of both Big Air and SuperPipe, which occurred within four hours of each other. • As of late Friday night, she is still on the roster for Saturday morning’s Slopestyle contest. She’s the defending gold medalist in that discipline, too.

Format: 25-minute jam session. Best run counts, ranked 1-7. Gold: Every single run of Gu’s would have won. She had consistently great Eileen Gu amplitude and her grabs were spot on. She never threw away a trick, and made every hit count. Her first and last runs were the best; the WATCH THE RUNS judges thought they were the best women’s SuperPipe runs ever.

Runs 1 and 4: right 900 safety, left 900 Japan, right 720 safety, switch left 720 Japan, left alley-oop flatspin 540 Weddle grab, left 540 double Japan

Silver: Cassie Sharpe’s left 1260 tailgrab was the hardest trick ever landed by a woman Sharpe in SuperPipe. The 1260 and the lofty corked out 1080 tail grab on her last hit were the two best tricks of the night. But the middle of her run just wasn’t hard enough. Her air-to-fakie and switch 360 lacked difficulty and the judges docked her for it, and she didn’t throw a hard rightside trick (her unnatural direction) in her best run.

Run 2: left 1260 tailgrab (awesome), right cork 900 no grab, left flair, air-to-fakie Weddle, switch left 360 Weddle grab, right flair, left cork 1080 tail (awesome).

Bronze: Rachael Karker had great amplitude and her right 900 Japan grab was really Karker awesome, but she had straight airs in the middle of her run that kept her from moving up the leaderboard.

Runs 1 and 3: straight air tailgrab, left flair Weddle grab, right 900 Japan (awesome) left 900, straight air Japan, left cork 720 safety, switch left alley-oop 540 safety.

4. Zoe Atkin Atkin spun in all four directions, she had good grabs and she was innovative, but she lacked amplitude. Because she lacked amplitude, she was able to get more hits (7) than the other riders, but it didn’t make up for her lack of height.

Run 1: left 720 tail, switch right 540 safety, switch left 720 safety, left alley-oop 540 safety, left 540 nose grab (pretty cool), right 720 tail, switch left 540 tail.

5. Devin Logan Logan started her run with a great left 900 and her 540s were clean, but her run lacked difficulty and height.

Run 1: left 900, left alley-oop critical, left 540 Japan, right 540 Japan, left 720 tail, switch left alley-oop 540

6. Annalisa Drew A late add to the roster, Drew had a good cork 900 at the beginning of her run and a left 1080 at the end, but she wasn’t consistent and did nothing difficult in the middle.

Run 2: straight air safety, cork 900, left alley-oop flatspin 540, left 540, straight air safety, left 1080

7. Brita Sigourney Sigourney fell on a right cork 720 the first 3 runs. She finally put a run down on her last pass but it wasn’t clean.

Run 4: straight air Japan, Alley-oop, left 900 tail, left alley-oop 540 no grab, left 540 safety, straight air.

Men’s SuperPipe Final Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Nicole Dreon

Gold: Nico Porteous, NZL Silver: Aaron Blunck, USA Bronze: Birk Irving, USA

New Zealand Teen Porteous Strikes Gold! • Nico Porteous, 19, was the youngest rider in the comp, and the future is bright. Porteous pushed the progression of the sport and earned his first SuperPipe gold. • The Kiwi landed a competition-first combo: back-to-back double 1620s. Just to up the difficulty, he threw the combo in the middle of his run. Nico was the only competitor to throw a rotation bigger than a 1440, and he did two of them. In a row.

• Porteous is the first skier from New Zealand to win X Games Ski SuperPipe gold. It’s his second medal (Aspen 2019 bronze) and third for the family: Nico’s older brother Miguel earned Ski SuperPipe silver at Aspen 2017. • Nico may have had an advantage: New Zealand conquered it’s Covid problem months ago, and Porteous trained all winter in the southern hemisphere while many of his competitors were stuck inside at home during shutdowns.

Blunck Overcomes Injury for Silver • On Oct. 13th, while training in Saas Fee, SUI, Aaron Blunck suffered a broken pelvis, grade three laceration to his kidney, six broken ribs, bruised heart and lungs and a concussion. He didn’t start skiing again until a few weeks before X Games. • Blunck looked sore most of the week during practice at Aspen. He didn’t seem like a contender even though he’s normally a threat. But he dug deep during the final. He held the lead briefly before slipping to third, then took silver with his final pass. • Silver is Blunck’s third SuperPipe medal in 11 appearances.

First Medal for Irving • Competing in his fifth X Games, Colorado’s Birk Irving earned his first medal. His runs had great amplitude and execution, and he threw down consistently all night. The 21-year-old even briefly held the lead.

Rough Night for Ferreira • Two-time defending gold medalist and Aspen local Alex Ferreira was hoping to claim the threepeat on Friday night, but he only put down one clean pass, and it was missing one of his signature tricks.

• Entering Aspen 2021, Ferreira had made the X Games SuperPipe podium in 6 of his past 7 starts, and he finished 4th in the other. He was the favorite for gold in 2021, but he lacked his usual precision. He had a strong pass going on the final run of the competition, but he slid out on his final hit. Even if he had landed it, the judges said it would’ve come up well short of Nico Porteous.

• Ferreira is used to having tons of friends and family in the finish corral, and he usually feeds off their energy. Whether the lack of fans affected his performance is hard to tell.

Format: 30-minute jam session. Best Run Counts, ranked 1-8. Gold: Nico The back-to-back double 1620s Porteous threw in the middle of his run Porteous put him in a league of his own. The combo had never been done in competition, and his complete run was one of the most progressive ever WATCH THE RUNS witnessed. He threw doubles in three directions, and while his amplitude wasn’t the highest, he was consistent.

Run 3: switch right 900 Weddle grab, switch left double 1080 safety, right double 1620 Weddle, left double 1620 safety, left alley-oop double 900 Japan.

Silver: Aaron The first three hits of Blunck’s run were among the hardest of the comp, Blunck but he had some bobbles that hampered his amplitude. Still, it was the difficulty of those first three tricks that pushed him ahead of Birk Irving. He was the only rider to throw doubles in all four directions. Only two men have thrown doubles in all four directions at X Games. David Wise did it for gold at Aspen 2018. Blunck now has done it in consecutive years…and has consecutive silver medals.

Run 4: right double 1440 tail, switch left double 900 japan, switch right double 1080 Japan, left double 900 safety, right double 1260 tail.

Bronze: Birk Irving had great amplitude and execution, but his runs weren’t quite as Irving technical as Porteous and Blunck. He also missed the grab on his right double 1260. Still, he earned his 1st medal in his 5th appearance.

Run 3: switch left double 1080 safety, right double 1260 safety, left double 1440 safety, switch right 720 double Japan, left down the pipe double flatspin 900 Japan, left alley-oop double 720 safety.

4. Brendan MacKay got in off the alternate list the night before the final when Beau- MacKay James Wells dropped with an injury. Brendan, who took SuperPipe bronze at XG Aspen 2020, began his run with two tricks that made a unique combo. He had doubles in three of four directions with great execution, but he never spun more than a 1260.

Run 1 and 2: switch left alley-oop double 900 safety, switch left double 1080 safety, right 900 tail, left double 1260 tail, right double 1260 safety.

5. David Wise Wise didn’t look like his normal self. He made some mistakes and wasn’t as consistent as he usually is. He was never in contention for the podium.

Run 3: switch right 720 Japan, left double 1260 Weddle, right 1080 tail, switch left double 1080 Japan, right double 1260 Weddle.

6. Gus Kenworthy Aspen 2021 SuperPipe marked Kenworthy’s 31st XG start, the most of any winter athlete. Kenworthy had left knee surgery in July and hasn’t been skiing much over the course of the last calendar year, and it showed. He kept falling on his double 1440 and almost looked surprised when he landed it on his final pass.

Run 4: right 1080 tailgrab, switch left double 1080 japan, left alley-oop double 900 Japan, left double 1440 safety, switch right 900 safety

7. Alex Ferreria The two-time defending X Games Aspen gold medalist only put down one clean pass, and the run was still missing one of his signature tricks (a double 1080). He fell twice attempting the double 1080 on other passes and made uncharacteristic mistakes elsewhere in his runs. He never attempted the switch left double 1080 he was hoping to bring to Aspen 2021.

He was working on his best run of the night when he slid out on the final hit of the comp’s final run. But judges said that he would’ve been well short of Nico Porteous even if he had landed it.

Run 1: right double 1440 Weddle, switch left 720 Japan (this trick was way too basic, and he likely wanted it to be the switch left double 1080), right down the pipe double flatspin 900 Japan, left 720 tail (supposed to be double 1080), switch right double 1080.

8. Noah Bowman Didn’t make it past his second trick one time. He kept underrotating the switch left double 1260 safety grab, taking a couple of hard hits in the process.

Women’s Big Air Final Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Nicole Dreon

Gold: Mathilde Gremaud, SUI Silver: Megan Oldham, CAN Bronze: Eileen Gu, CHN

Gremaud Captures Third Big Air Gold • The favorite coming into the comp, Swiss skier Mathilde Gremaud delivered in dramatic fashion to earn her third X Games Big Air gold, the most in the discipline’s short history.

• On her fourth jump, she landed the hardest trick ever done by a woman skier: a switch left double cork 1440 safety grab. It was a competition first and just the second time a woman had landed the trick -- Gremaud did it once over the 2020 summer. • Gremaud attempted the trick on her third jump and crashed so hard she blew off both her skis. She showed tremendous determination and grit when she went right back up to the top and stomped it on her next run. Camera’s caught her in the start gate attempting to fix a binding damaged in the crash just moments before she made history. That’s some courage. She later told feature producer Joel Lee that the equipment issue may have been a blessing in disguise -- it prevented her from thinking too much about her crash.

• Mathilde crushed the competition. The 1440 scored a 46 and her second-best jump tallied a 45. The total score of 91 was 14 points higher than silver medalist Megan Oldham. • Gremaud also owns gold from Norway 2017 and Aspen 2019.

Oldham Scores Again • Oldham delivered at X Games Aspen 2021; a double cork 1260 safety grab helped her earn silver. It had the best amplitude of any jump during the comp and was the third single highest scoring trick of the event. • The 19-year-old surprised at X Games Norway 2020 when she took Big Air gold thanks to that 1260. She became the first Canadian woman to podium in the discipline. • One of two teens in Big Air (Eileen Gu), Oldham also will compete in Slopestyle on Saturday.

Rookie Gu Earns Bronze • The only rookie in a Ski discipline at Aspen 2021 and the youngest skier at X Games, Eileen Gu, 17, threw an awesome left double 1080 Japan grab on her first jump that scored a 41. If she had landed the right double cork 1260 she attempted three times, she might have earned silver. • Gu doesn’t have much big air experience and was really intimated during her first Big Air practice on Wednesday night, but she warmed up quickly.

Teens Do It Again • Two of the 7 on the X Games Aspen 2021 Women’s Ski Big Air roster were teenagers: Megan Oldham (19) and Eileen Gu (17). The teens took silver and bronze. • Young guns have a history of doing well in X Games Big Air. Teens have now taken 17 of the 30 podium spots since the discipline was introduced at X Games 2016.

Sildaru Drops • After injuring her left knee during the warm up, Kelly Sildaru, who was scheduled to compete in three disciplines at Aspen 2021, pulled out of the comp. She also pulled out of the SuperPipe contest which took place four hours later.

• The 30-minute jam session was shortened to 25 minutes because of the smaller field.

Format: 25-minute jam session. 2 best runs per rider count, ranked 1-6. Gold: Mathilde Gremaud’s switch double cork 1440 was the hardest trick ever landed by Gremaud a woman skier. She was the only skier who landed two “A” tricks, which put her in a completely different points category. Her score of 91 was 14 91.00 points higher than silver medalist Megan Oldham. She also showed great heart by returning from a vicious crash in Run 3 to stick a NBD-in- See the Runs competition.

Jump 2 (45.00): switch left double 1080 tailgrab (grab was unbelievable). She totally bent the ski back.

Jump 4 (46.00): switch double 1440 safety. First time ever landed by a woman in a contest. Had a small hand drag otherwise would have scored even better. It’s the same trick that powered Oystein Braaten to XG Big Air silver at Aspen 2018.

Silver: Megan For the second time, Oldham used a beautiful left double 1260 safety to Oldham land on the Big Air podium. (The trick also helped propel her to gold at Norway 2020). While her next best jump was clean, it lacked difficulty. 77.00 Gremaud landed two difficult doubles, while Oldham only landed one.

Jump 1 (33.00): switch left 1080 mutegrab, really clean Jump 2 (44.00): left double 1260 safety, most amplitude of the comp.

Bronze: Eileen Gu The only Ski rookie at Aspen 2021, Gu landed her best trick on her first jump, a left double 1080 Japan. She attempted her right double cork 73.00 1260 three times but could never put it to her feet. If she had, she might have earned silver. But showing strategy befitting a teen who scored a 1580 on her SAT and earned early admission to Stanford, Gu ditched the 1260 on her final pass and put down a solid -- and safe – trick.

Jump 1 (41.00): left double 1080 Japan

Jump 4 (32.00): right 900 Buick grab. It’s the same grab that Alex Hall made famous and the most difficult grab performed by a woman in the field.

4. Caroline Claire Her first jump had a cool axis, similar to Henrik Harlaut’s orbital, but she needed a deeper, cleaner bag of tricks to bump up onto the podium. 71.00 Jump 1 (36.00): switch left double 900 safety, nice axis (similar to Henrik Harlaut’s orbital)

Jump 4 (35.00): switch left double 1080 safety, landed a little sideways.

5. Sarah Hoefflin Hoefflin’s switch right double cork 1080 was awesome, but she could never land her switch left double 900. It’s a trick she’s done for years, 66.00 but never been consistent with landing.

Jump 2 (39.00): perfect switch right (natural direction) double 1080 Weddle grab.

Jump 3 (27.00): switch left 720 safety

6. Isabel Atkin The only skier who didn’t do a double, Atkins had some big rotations, but needed a double to be competitive. 62.00 Jump 2 (32.00): switch right 1080 Weddle

Jump 4 (30.00): right 900 tail

Women’s Slopestyle Preview Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Nicole Dreon

The Course • The 2021 course is different than years past and the skiers really like it. Biggest change from previous years? Two mandatory transition jumps at the end of the course -- first on the left-hand side and then on the right-hand side. The final two hits flow like a halfpipe.

• The last two features totally favor skiers Kelly Sildaru and Eileen Gu who also compete in halfpipe. In practice, they were much more comfortable on these features than their competitors.

• The rails are really fun and interesting, but they aren’t super technical, which means that Sildaru the rail ace (who has won four XG Slopestyle gold based on her rail chops) doesn’t have her typical advantage.

• Eileen Gu looked great on the rails during practice. She had several 270 variations and consistently landed a right 450 disaster to switch on the second section.

Doubles in the middle • It is unlikely that any of the women will be able to land a double off the last two features, which means they will have to attempt them on the first two jumps.

• All skiers, except Eileen Gu, lands their doubles riding switch, which means they are unlikely to throw them on the second jump before the quarterpipe. They won’t want to go into that feature switch.

• That leaves the first jump, which is smack in the middle of the run. The women skiers typically save their double flip for the last jump. Throwing it in the middle of the run is trickier because they still have to be composed enough to set up for the next jump. Those who do it will certainly stand out. Look for Mathilde Gremaud and Eileen Gu to get it down. Sildaru doesn’t throw doubles.

Can Kelly Stay Perfect? • Kelly Sildaru is 4 for 4 in X Games Women’s Ski Slopestyle. She earned her first gold as a 13-year-old rookie at Aspen 2016 and she has yet to miss the top spot. Now 18, the Estonian high schooler could tie Slopestyle legend Kaya Turski for most ever Ski Slopestyle gold medals (male or female).

• Citing a left knee injury from warmup, Sildaru pulled herself from Big Air after passing on her first two runs. Later in the day she withdrew from Friday night’s SuperPipe Final.

• Sildaru entered X Games Aspen 2021 with three chances to pass Nyjah Huston and Shaun White for most medals earned by a teenager in X Games history (9). Slopestyle is her only hope to claim the record in 2021. Age is on her side though. She’s 18 and won’t turn 20 until February 2022.

Triple Duty

• Eileen Gu is the lone female skier pulling triple duty at X Games Aspen 2021 the rookie will compete in Big Air, SuperPipe and Slopestyle.

• Gu earned a bronze in Big Air on the strength of a leftside double 1080 and a rightside 900.

• Then, after only 4 hours of rest, Gu became the first rookie to win Women’s Ski SuperPipe. From start to finish, Gu’s three event weekend is only 22 hours long.

Double Duty: All the women on the Slopestyle roster, also competed in Friday afternoon’s Big Air Final.

Aspen 2021 Women’s Ski Big Air Final

Gold: Mathilde Gremaud (Slopestyle silver, Norway 2020) Silver: Megan Oldham Bronze: Eileen Gu 4. Caroline Claire 5. Sarah Hoefflin (Slopestyle silver, Aspen 2019-2020) 6. Isabel Atkin (Slopestyle silver, Aspen 2018)

DNS: Kelly Sildaru (Slopestyle gold, Aspen 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020)

Men’s Big Air Preview Friday, January 28, 2021 Researcher: Nicole Dreon

Athletes Love the Jump! • Right from the start, skiers like Henrik Harlaut and James “Woodsy” Woods had “perma” grins when they hit the X Games Aspen Big Air jump. They loved it. • The skiers they can carry a lot of speed and have plenty airtime for rotations. • While skiers spent most of the practices getting used to the jump and setting up for their tricks, Andri Ragettli did land a forward triple 1800 on Thursday. It’s an incredibly difficult trick and Ragettli did it with a cool rotation. The only other skier who has landed one is Birk Ruud (Aspen 2020 Big Air).

• Skiers like Harlaut, Woods, Alex Hall and Ruud are unlikely to throw their biggest tricks during practice. Harlaut, in particular, has been known to wait until the Final to unveil tricks for the first time. Not the first time in a contest, the first time ever.

TRICK WATCH: Quad flip? Probably Not • Andri Ragettli is the only rider on the 2021 roster who has landed a quad flip, but he hasn’t done it in Aspen. He’s twice landed the quad in competition (quad 1800 at Nine Royals 2017 and quad 1980 at Nine Royals 2019).

• Fabian Boesch landed a quad 1980 at X Games Aspen 2019 during practice but not the comp. Boesch was onsite during Wednesday practice, even though he isn’t currently on the Big Air roster. In his opinion, he didn’t think the 2021 jump was conducive to throwing a quad. It’s unlikely that Ragettli will go for it at any rate, as he seems to be focusing on doubles and triples with big rotations.

Switch triple 1800? • Birk Ruud and Alex Hall. Hall has landed it once, but he opts not to do triples anymore. Look for Ruud to pull it off.

2160? • Skiers like Hall, Ruud and Evan McEachran are landing switch double 1800s off big air scaffolding jumps. Will the jump in Aspen allow them to go bigger? Could a 1980 or 2160 be on the horizon? Fabian Boesch has landed a 1980 at X Games, but no one has landed a 2160.

Forward left double bio 1800? • Birk Ruud won the Dec. 2019 World Cup in with the trick. He also landed it at X Games Norway 2020, but it was a little sloppy. It’s difficult because the axis is really complicated: The skier’s body must advance forward while tilting back at the same time.

Pregrab? • Antoine Adelisse. Grabs his right ski tip with his left hand during takeoff while throwing a switch right triple 1440. Second skier to do it in competition; it powered him to X Games Norway 2020 gold. Erik Saeteroy was the first to do it on his way to silver at Norway 2017.

Triple Duty • Henrik Harlaut and Alex Hall are pulling triple duty, competing in Big Air, Slopestyle and Knuckle Huck all within a span of 26 hours.

• No male skier has earned three medals at a single X Games. Kelly Sildaru became the first skier to medal in three disciplines when she did it at Aspen 2019. Only three athletes have earned three medals at the same winter event: Sildaru, Snowmobiler Joe Parsons and snowboarder Jennie Waara, who did it way back at 1997.

Harlaut Eyes Ski Record • The 2020 Aspen Big Air gold medalist could make history with another gold during Saturday’s comp: He has 7 total X Games gold (6 Big Air, 1 Slopestyle) and is tied with Tanner Hall for the most Ski gold medals in X Games history. Harlaut has three shots to break the record at Aspen 2021 between Big Air, Slopestyle and Knuckle Huck. His best chance is in Big Air.

Most X Games Ski Gold Medals Tanner Hall, 7 Henrik Harlaut, 7* Maddie Bowman, 5 Kelly Sildaru, 5* Kaya Turski, 5 *Competing at X Games Aspen 2021

X Games Big Air Champs in the Field • X Games Men's Ski Big Air has been held 20 times, but only two skiers have won the discipline back-to-back: Henrik Harlaut (Aspen 2013-2014; Norway 2017 & Aspen 2018) and Birk Ruud (Norway 2018 & Aspen 2019). Harlaut is the only male skier to earn more than four X Games gold in a single discipline, while Ruud has two silver medals to go with his two gold.

• Antoine Adelisse: He came in off the alternate list the morning of Big Air at Norway 2020 and led almost the entire contest to earn his first XG medal (gold).

• Alex Hall took two X Games gold in 2019: Aspen Slopestyle and Norway Big Air. He added Knuckle Huck gold at Norway 2020. The powerful skier is known for his intricate grabs and is a favorite for gold in Knuckle Huck, Big Air and Slopestyle at Aspen 2021. Only three skiers have won gold in three different X Games disciplines: Hall, Tanner Hall and Candide Thovex. James Woods: The 2017 Aspen Big Air champ missed the 2020 season with a torn right MCL.