ASPEN, CO (Jan. 27. 2015)—It has not been very long since Winter X Games 2015 wrapped up, but the athletes have packed their bags—and medals—en route to the next destination, and Aspen, Colorado regained a sense of normalcy after the throngs of fans headed back to where they came from. In hindsight, X Games 2015 introduced a myriad of storylines, drama, and characters to the world, while U.S. Freeskiing and U.S. Snowboarding athletes proved to be the central characters in the compelling stories that unfurled.
“X Games 2015 was an amazing event with the best athletes in the world,” said U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing Director Jeremy Forster. “The athletes focus on X Games annually and there were so many great performances this year in Aspen."
Maddie Bowman takes another gold in ski halfpipe. (Getty Images-Agence Zoom)
The women’s ski superpipe final kicked off X Games, and U.S. Freeskiing’s Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) made it clear that she’s a timeless icon in halfpipe skiing. Bowman became the first female halfpipe skier since the late Sarah Burke of Canada to three-peat in the Buttermilk superipe. Bowman’s dominant performance was an appropriate curtain-raiser to the rest of the X Games events to follow, and her winning the gold medal foreshadowed success to-come for the U.S. Freeskiing and U.S. Snowboarding teams.
Danny Davis celebrates in the finish after winning the superpipe gold. (Getty Images-Agence Zoom)
Next up, the men’s snowboard superpipe final took center stage on primetime television. Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA), Gabe Ferguson (Bend, OR), and Danny Davis (Truckee, CA) represented USA in the final. Determining the snowboard superpipe champion boiled down to Davis’ final run through the halfpipe. Per usual, Davis displayed technical tricks that had real snowboarding fans heads spinning. The judges were impressed, and awarded Davis his second consecutive X Games superpipe gold medal.
“This win was unexpected because I haven’t ridden much halfpipe this year,” said Davis after his winning run. “I was in Japan before this, but after I landed my second run in ‘qualis’ it started to feel like I was getting into a flow. The judging is tough these days, and I feel for all of us when we’re going to do our runs.”
Lindsey Jacobellis took her ninth X Games gold medal. (Getty Images-AFP/Michel Cizek)
Men’s and women’s snowboardcross took to the track on Friday morning. Firm conditions and blue skies meant that the shortened course ran fast. As it usually does in snowboardcross, chaos ensued and crashes were common. The results? Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) successfully navigated the mayhem and won her ninth X Games gold medal. On the men’s side, longtime legend Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, CA) won bronze in a highly competitive international field.
“Everyone is riding really great right now,” said Holland. “This [was] the best X Games course so far, even though it is not their typical course.”
Bobby Brown takes a silver in big air. (Getty Images-Agence Zoom)
With big air slated to become an Olympic event in 2018, Friday night’s snowboard big air and Saturday night’s ski big air garnered a lot of attention. Always a favorite event amongst fans, both competitions showed an incredible level of riding and skiing. It’s amazing to think how far both sports have come since their early days in the late 1990s, when a switch 720 won X Games gold. Triples, off-axis spins, and quadruple rotations were commonplace this year, as the international field of snowboarders and skiers hit the 84-foot jump in front of a record-breaking audience. In the end, Bobby Brown (Breckenridge, CO) won silver in ski big air.
“It was an interesting night; I crashed more than I landed,” said Brown. “But, I somehow got on the podium. It’s X Games, and you have to come back after crashing. I didn’t have a concussion or anything, so I was good to go.”
Keri Herman grabs her third X Games silver. (Getty Images-Agence Zoom)
The ski slopestyle finals produced another historic result when Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, IN) won a third consecutive X Games gold medal. Initially, Goepper did not qualify for the finals, finishing one spot off the mark in the elimination round. However, an unfortunate injury to Canada’s Alex Beaulieu Marchand—known as “ABM” in the freeskiing world—allowed Goepper to slide into the final. The two-time defending gold medalist made the most of the opportunity, clinching a slopestyle three-peat. Olympic slopestyle gold medalist Joss Christensen (Park City, UT) won silver. On the women’s side, Keri Herman (Breckenridge, CO) won her third X Games silver medal.
“I am really bummed for ‘ABM’ [Alex Beaulieu Marchand], and I wish him a speedy recovery. I feel really fortunate to have qualified in that ninth spot and just barely have scooted in [to the finals],” said Goepper. “This is the best win I’ve had at X Games. The first one was pretty special, but this one ranks the highest.”
Chloe Kim becomes the youngest athlete to win gold in Winter X Games history. (Getty Images-Agence Zoom)
14-year-old Chloe Kim (La Palma, CA) made history in the women’s snowboard superpipe final. Kim’s gold medal performance made her the youngest athlete to win gold in Winter X Games history. Standing beside Kim on the superpipe podium was 31-year-old snowboarding legend Kelly Clark (West Dover, VT) who won silver. The win was Kim’s first X Games medal, and Clark’s 13th.
Jamie Anderson (pictured here at X Games 2014) won a silver in slopestyle. (Getty Images-Doug Pensinger)
The last day of X Games began with snowboard slopestyle finals. Illustrating how global snowboarding has gone, the men’s and women’s field was comprised of riders from all over the world. Reigning Olympic snowboard slopestyle gold medalists and U.S. Snowboarding team riders Sage Kotsenberg (Park City, UT) and Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, CA) represented in the competitive finals on the men’s and women’s side, respectively. Kotsenberg finished fifth, while Anderson won a silver medal in women’s slopestyle.
“The riding is so good now that you have to put together your max run to even podium,” said Kotsenberg. Added Anderson: “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.”
Alex Ferreira celebrates his second X Games superpipe bronze. (Getty Images-Agence Zoom)
The final event of Winter X Games 2015 was ski superpipe. And, in front of his hometown family, friends, and fans, Alex Ferreira (Aspen, CO) put on a halfpipe skiing clinic. The 20-year-old laced an electric run through the superpipe and walked away with his second straight X Games ski superpipe bronze medal.
“I don’t even know what to think right now; it was a crazy day,” said an elated Ferreira. “I didn’t land my first two runs and had to put it all out on the line for my third one and it ended up working out. I couldn’t be happier. All my friends and family are out here and I’m in front of my hometown.”
All in all, Winter X Games 2015 was a resounding success for the U.S. Freeskiing and U.S. Snowboarding teams. The total tally? 13 medals for the Americans. Not bad, at all.
