An all-American podium follows Men’s Ski SuperPipe Finals at Winter X Games Aspen 2012
The third day Winter X Games Aspen 2012 continued to treat a massive crowd to a heavy dose of thrilling action as the best male freeskiers from around the world gathered at the Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado, to compete for the coveted Men’s Skiing
SuperPipe gold.
In the recent years, France’s Kevin Rolland had done exceptionally well to hang on to his place on the top of the podium. Coming to the competition this year, he was aiming for a three-peat and there were not many people who doubted his chances of reaching
the milestone. Rolland had not only clinched the gold at Winter X Games in 2010-11, but had done it quite convincingly.
Little did anyone know that the afternoon of Saturday was going to feature one of the biggest upsets of the competition, with the underdog David Wise of America announcing himself as a formidable force to be reckoned with. The 21-year-old Reno-native had
not been exhibiting a promising form this season and was yet to collect a result better than sixth place.
Regardless of what the record showed, Wise made his intentions quite clear during the elimination rounds, finishing in first place to comfortably advance through into the eight-man Final. Facing the likes of two-time defending champion Rolland, fellow countryman
Torin Yater-Wallace and Simon Dumont, along with Canada’s Justin Dorey, the scales were definitely not tipping in his favour. However, Wise had no intentions of letting the intimidating line-up keep him off the podium this year.
The 567-foot-long and 66-feet-wide superpipe with 22-foot walls created endless possibilities for the freeskiers as they entered it. With three runs at their disposal to impress the judges, the afternoon promised nothing short of adrenaline-pumping performances.
While all eyes were on Rolland and his possible three-peat, it was the young Noah Bowman of Canadian who stole the show as the first runs of the Final were landed. The 19-year-old Calgary-native posted an 87.66 to take the lead.
As the contest came down to the second runs, the 23-year-old Dorey aimed to get his first podium finish by attempting a switch double flip, but ended up with a nasty crash. However, he walked away with a left shoulder injury, allowing the crowd and his fellow
competitors to breathe a sigh of relief.
A few minutes after Dorey escaped a nasty crash, Wise began his second run. Combining amplitude and technicality, the American freeskier put together a phenomenal run, with a switch double 1080 and double cork 1260 mute being the highlight of his run. The
outstanding effort earned him a score of 93.00 to put him in the lead. The lead held until the end to eventually put him on top of the podium.
Wise was glad to unseat Rolland from the throne, stating, “It's been a Frenchy sweep for a while now, so to come out and ski well and have an all-North American podium is sweet.”
Bowman ended up falling in his second run, but returned to put on a really solid third run. The run, which featured his version of the switch double flip, earned him a 90.00 to put him in second place, allowing the young freeskier to take home a silver medal.
The trick that had earned him a place on the podium had just been added to this arsenal a couple of days ago.
“I just learned [the switch alley-oop double] one or two days ago in practice,” Bowman said. “I'd been working on it on the airbag in Whistler right before I came here. It felt like it was going to work out and it turns out it did, so I'm pumped.”
The 16-year-old Yater-Wallace had gotten hold of a silver medal in his first appearance at Winter X Games last year and once again found himself on the podium after scoring an 89.66 off his third run. While he was excited about taking home the bronze, the
local-favourite admitted that he was expected to put on a much better performance.
Rolland only managed to land one of his three runs cleanly, earning 89.33 points off it. As a result, he was forced to stay off the podium this year. It was definitely not the best way to get unseated from the throne and came as a huge disappointment for
the crowd.
The two-time Winter X gold medallist Dumont failed to make much of an impact during the Final on Saturday and finished in sixth place after scoring an 87.00 of his final run.
After three years, Men’s Ski SuperPipe saw an all-American podium, much to the joy of the local crowd. It would be interested to see if Wise is able to hold Rolland off next year as well or will the Frenchman successfully reclaim his throne.
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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