All eyes on Torin Yater-Wallace following his success in Men’s Ski SuperPipe in Tignes
While standing at the highest spot on the podium at the end of any competition fills up an athlete with, clinching the honours at one of the biggest stage of action sports is an entirely different experience and greatest joy.
The young American freeskier Torin Yater-Wallace got to experience exactly that on at Winter X Games Tignes 2012 after securing top honours in Men’s Ski SuperPipe Final that went down at Tignes, France, on Friday, March 16.
The European version of Winter X Games had attracted a large number of renowned winter action sports athletes from around the world to take each other on in front of a mammoth-sized crowd. There is hardly any platform as good as the ESPN-hosted event to
earn and maintain respect in the extreme sports community through an exhibition of superior skills and style.
Yater-Wallace had all the reason to feel confident as he got ready to compete in Friday’s Final of Men’s Ski SuperPipe. Despite his young age, the American freeskier had managed to push France’s Kevin Rolland to fourth place at Winter X Games Aspen 2012
to walk away with the bronze medal.
Rolland, defending Winter X Games Tignes SuperPipe champion, was forced to miss this year’s mega-event due to a knee injury, much to the dismay of the local crowd. The eighth-time Winter X medallist Simon Dumont from America was also missing from the competition
field with the knee injury to blame once again.
With two of the freeskiing titans missing from contention for top honours at Tignes this year, there was without any doubt an opportunity for Yater-Wallace to convert his bronze to gold.
However, his compatriot David Wise was not expected to make it an easy ride for him. The latter had proven to be a formidable competitor at Aspen earlier this year to remove Rolland from the throne and was considered as one of the favourites at Winter X
Games Tignes.
Gus Kenworthy, another contender for the Ski SuperPipe gold, could not be ignored either due to his potential to put together phenomenal runs.
Despite facing an intimidating line-up in Friday’s Final, Yater-Wallace refused to succumb to the pressure and stepped up to prove wiser beyond his years. In his very first run of the Final, The Colorado-based freeskier strung together a huge array of tricks
to post a 93.00 on the score-board, taking an early lead.
Even though his lead held up throughout the first and second runs, Yater-Wallace went all out on his third run, putting together a run that featured a double cork 1260, massive 1080, 900, and 1080 to switch 900. The phenomenal run cemented his position on
top with a score of 95.00.
“I can't believe I just won,” said an out of breath Yater-Wallace at the bottom of the pipe. “This is the best pipe I've ever ridden. I was feeling good and ended up landing. I don't even know what to say. It means the world to me. It's been my goal for
my entire life, and it happened today.”
Even though the French crowd strongly felt the absence of Rolland during the SuperPipe Final, Thomas Krief gave the locals something to celebrate by securing the silver medal, courtesy of his Run 2 that comprised of a 900, double 1260, alley-oop flat-spin
360, switch 1080 to double flat spin 900 to post a 91.66 on the score-board.
The Winter X Games Aspen 2012 Men’s Ski SuperPipe gold medallist Wise had to settle for a bronze medal after dropping an impressive 90.33-point run that included a switch double 1080 Japan, back-to-back 900s, an alley-oop flat-spin 540 tail grab and a double
cork 1260. The Nevada-based freeskier attempted to step up in his final run, going for a grab on his final 1260, but failed to complete the trick cleanly.
Colorado’s Kenworthy failed to make much of an impact during the eight-man Final, finishing in seventh place with a best-run score of 57.33 points.
Yater-Wallace may have been able to prove his mettle against a number of heavy-weights of freeskiing, but it still remains to be seen how he performs against the likes of Rolland and Dumont. He may have gotten the better of the French freeskier at Winter
X Games Aspen 2012, but that could easily be confused as a fluke over the years. The next encounter between Rolland and Yater-Wallace will surely result in answers to a lot of hanging questions.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
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