A sensational Triple Cork earns Torstein Horgmo gold at the Winter X Games 15
Regardless of our expecting an exposure to the most extraordinary stuff possible in the world of sports, we still find ourselves in a state of shock and awe. This year proved to be no different. Last night, we saw the amazing happen right in front of our
eyes when Torstein Horgmo pulled off a Triple Cork during the Big Air competition to bag the gold at the Winter X Games 15. At the end of the competition, Torstein was not just boasting about winning gold. He was boasting about making history.
In the final, there was absolutely no room for error. At the same time, the participants were aware of the fact that they would have to come up with something truly electrifying if they really wanted to find themselves at the top slot.
Sebastien Toutant, also known as Seb Toots, the veritable freestyle snowboarding phenomenon from Montreal, was already high on confidence because of his two Big Air wins this season, prevailing in the Air & Style Beijing and International Ski Federation
(FIS) World Cup in Stockholm. Toutant was dripping with confidence throughout the night, dominating the contest for most of the night, his score of 79 keeping him in the lead.
Victory did not seem too distant for Toutant after Torstein Horgmo was done with his first two jumps. Torstein’s intentions were quite clear after he tried to pull off a Triple Cork, failing in both attempt due to an under-rotated jump.
Time was running out for Horgmo as he braced himself for his final jump. It was a do-or-die situation for him. He launched himself into the jump, and without letting the last two failures daunt him, attempted the Triple Cork again. The third time proved
to be a charm as he finally managed to land it. The stunt was truly heroic. The only thing that kept it from sealing the fate of the contest right there and then was the slight dragging of his hand after he landed in order to help him ride away. The Norwegian
snowboarder finally got the lead with his final score of 80, 1 point ahead of Toutant.
The little fumble by Horgmo was what left a window of opportunity open for Toutant. However, the Canadian was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. He failed to make an improvement on his two highest score and regain his lead. After an extremely intense
contest, it was Horgmo who came out victorious. Sage Kotsenburg, the Utah athlete making his second appearance in the competition, end up with a bronze medal. Mark McMoriss and Scotty Lago came in the 4th and 5th position respectively.
The highlight of the night was Torstein Horgmo’s Triple Cork, a trick that he had executed last year at a private jump in Norway. He was expected to bring it with him to the Winter X Games. It seemed impossible to see such a feat get repeated during the
air time provided by the conventional contest jump, which would allegedly be insufficient. It was in Aspen that Horgmo proved all the speculations wrong by making history and making it evident to the world that it was more about the rider than the jump.
“I guess I had a bunch of adrenaline after that first crash,” Horgmo said, still out of breath in the finish area. “The pain is coming, though. And Nicole -- that's my board -- came through for me tonight. She treated me good on that last one.”
The Norwegian snowboarder has stood on the podium several times already during the biggest extreme sports event. His first podium came in 2008, where he clinched the gold medal in the Big Air competition. Second and third podium came in 2009 and 2010 respectively,
winning silver on both occasions in the same discipline, i.e. Big Air.
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