Daniel Bodin wins Snowmobile Freestyle Competition at Winter X Games
Last night Daniel Bodin’s dream finally became a reality. After narrowly missing out on a top three finish for four consecutive years, the Swedish rider managed to clinch his first-ever gold medal in the Snowmobile Freestyle Competition at the Winter X Games
15 (WX 15). The fifth time proved to be lucky for him indeed.
The result of the snowmobile discipline was pretty evident once everyone witnessed Bodin’s final run. It comprised of big extensions and long holds on some extremely sensational tricks, which included the Kiss of Death flip and the Superman Indian Air Flip.
If that wasn’t enough to impress the judges, he finished off his run with an amazing seat grab flip, which is, without a doubt still one of the craziest tricks in the book to date. He ended up 91.33 points in his first run, a score that saw him seal victory.
Bodin called this run the best of his life.
Last year’s gold medalist, Justin Hoyer, seemed determined to beat Bodin’s score by throwing in some solid tricks. However, even a successful no-handed flip in his final run failed to get him enough points to surpass Bodin’s 91.33. He eventually ended up
with a score of 91 to take the silver medal.
Caleb Moore finished in third position to take the bronze, with a final score of 90, while Joe Parsons ended up in fourth place.
Levi LeVallee’s generosity paid off for Bodin. The seven-time Winter X Games medalist helped him prepare for the big contest - where some of the best athletes were competing against him - by lending him his resources and machines. The resources included
a foam pit, which provided Bodin with an ideal opportunity to perfect a lot of tricks that were already in his bag, but required a little polishing before they could be performed in the much hyped extreme sports event.
LeVallee, who was present in the commentator’s booth during Bodin’s run, said that he felt like a proud parent while watching the Swedish rider’s run. Missing out on the tournament this year because of an injury sustained last month during the practice for
“New Year’s No Limits”, LaVallee still managed to stay as close to the actual action as possible. He comfortably settled himself in the commentary booth and gave his views on the talent pool which made its way into the biggest extreme sports event this winter
and their runs.
After the competition, Hoyer acknowledged Bodin’s brilliant performance and said that, "It was the hardest Winter X ever. We've (X Games has) come a long way and hopefully we can continue to grow. Next year I'm a little nervous though. It's going to get
ugly. Real ugly."
After years of perseverance, Daniel Bodin finally got his reward. His first gold medal also made him the fifth unique winner in all five years of the Winter X Snowmobile Freestyle competition. Only time will tell whether he can defend his crown at the next
Winter X games.
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