ASPEN, CO (Jan. 25, 2015)—On the last day of X Games 2015, the men and women snowboarders took to the slopestyle course for the finals. Warm temperatures, blue skies and perfect conditions were on tap for the competitors. In the end, Olympic champion Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) grabbed a silver, while Canada’s Mark McMorris and Silje Norendal of Norway won gold in the men’s and women’s event.
On the coattails of Friday night’s epic Big Air victory, McMorris won another X Games gold medal. For the second time in his career, the Canadian returns home with two gold medals from a single X Games. Technical rail tricks and huge jumps were the winning formula for McMorris, who blasted a backside triple cork 1440 off the money booter that sealed his slopestyle gold medal.
Rounding out the podium were Norway’s Ståle Sandbech and Sven Thorgren of Sweden winning silver and bronze, respectively. 2015 Olympic gold medalist Sage Kotsenberg (Park City, UT) and Nikolas Baden (Steamboat Springs, CO) were the two U.S. Snowboarding team riders in the finals. Kotsenberg finished fifth and Baden finished in eighth. “The riding is so good now that you have to put together your max run to even podium,” said Kotsenberg.
On the women’s side, 2014 Olympic gold medalist Anderson was the lone American rider in the international field. Anderson’s first two runs through the slopestyle course went well, giving her a solid foundation of scores to build upon. However, she crashed on her final lap of the course, and finished with a silver medal. Anderson was bookended by Norendal and New Zealand’s Christy Prior. Norendal won gold with a score of 93.66, Anderson’s 91.33 earned her the silver and Prior notched a score of 89.33 to beat out Canada’s Spencer O’Brien for the bronze.
“I wanted to land that third run but I didn’t even make it to the last jump to try a 900,” said Anderson. “That’s how it is in competitive snowboarding: Some days are on point and some days aren’t. Today I was feeling really good, but I had a super gnarly slam that shook me up. But I’m happy I’m okay and I am so stoked to get a silver medal.”
HIGHLIGHTS
- This year’s silver medal is Anderson’s 10th X Games medal of her career.
- Anderson was the only American in the women’s slopestyle final. In addition to the United States, riders representing Norway, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Netherlands, and Austria competed in the final.
- McMorris wins two gold medals in the same X Games for the second time in his career. In 2012, an 18-year-old McMorris won big air and slopestyle, too.
QUOTES
Jamie Anderson, X Games slopestyle silver medalist
I wanted to land that third run, but I didn’t even make it to the last jump to try a 900. That’s how it is in competitive snowboarding—some days are on point and some days aren’t. Today I was feeling really good but I had a super gnarly slam that shook me up. But I’m happy I’m okay and I am so stoked to get a silver medal.
It’s all about perseverance (and pep talks from my friends). It’s gnarly out here. But, I love it and that’s why I do it. It is such a global field of riders and that’s powerful. It’s bringing the world together.
Sage Kotsenburg
It went really good. I put together a run that I was really stoked on. I did the first run to land and get a score. Then, I tried one-upping it on my second run and ended up bailing on the last jump. I wish I could have gotten it—that was definitely one of the crazier runs I’ve put together. The riding is so good now that you have to put together your max run to even podium. That’s a really cool thing because everyone is now getting their own crazy tricks and throwing down and landing it.
RESULTS
Official results
