History repeats itself: Kaya Turski nails another gold in slopestyle event at Winter X Games 15
On the noon of 28 January, Kaya Turski had all the reason in the world to be celebrating in Aspen, Colorado. Why wouldn’t she? She had just won the gold medal in the Women’s Slopestyle Ski finals, her second consecutive win in the Winter X Games 15. Keri
Herman came in second, whereas Grete Eliassen was in third. The podium standings were identical to that of last year.
This was Kaya Turski’s first appearance in a competition since last April. She had underwent a knee surgery after tearing her left ACL while landing from the final jump of her final run, which also happened to be her victory lap, at the Winter X Europe Slopestyle
event last year.
The defending champion retained her position at the top after prevailing in an extremely close battle, where the difference between the top three skiers was of a mere 0.33. The Canadian kicked off her final with a great first run, instantly gaining a lead
on the others with her score of 93.66. This first run, which also became her winning one, was compromised of a 360, a 540 and a switch 7. Her superiority on the rails became the deciding factor for the first and second position.
“I feel elated right now,” said Turski, thrilled on her victory. “I put a lot of pressure on myself. The level of competition here is so high, all the girls killed it. I luckily had a good first run, a great cab 7 and nailed the cannon. That really eased
the pressure.”
Keri Herman, from Breckenridge Colorado, once again lost out to Kaya Turski and took home the silver medal. She had lost the gold to the Canadian twice last year, first at the Winter X Games 14, and then at Winter X Games Europe. Coming really close to finally
surpassing her rival at this year’s competition, she ended up falling short again.
After a disappointing first and second run in the final, she put up quite a show for the judges in her third run. A run, that consisted of a 360, a 540 and a switch cork 7, resembled Kaya Turski’s first run a lot, earning her a score of 93.33. The 0.33 difference
was attributed to the way both the skiers handled the rails. Once again, Herman had to lose the gold to Turski, settling for silver like last year.
The skier from Utah, Grete Eliassen, won a second consecutive bronze after earning a score of 93.00 from her second run. She amazed the judges, after choosing a different rail line than the rest, by executing some spectacular tricks. These included a cork
7, a 360 nose grab, and the final jump leading to a 900. If it was not for Eliassen’s hand drag on the landing of 900, she might have made it home. Landing herself on the third position was definitely quite an achievement for the Norwegian native, considering
she had not spent too much time on the park due to her movie “Say my Name” taking most of her time and concentration the last few years. After the event, she seemed pretty satisfied with the way things turned out.
“I'm usually in the backcountry skiing, so coming to this is just bonus,” Eliassen said. “But of course I want to do well.”
Ashley Battersby, from Chicago, had a good chance to find a place on the podium after her best run that earned her a score of 92.00. However, her hopes were crushed after Keri Herman’s third run.
After a showdown that was nothing short of epic, it turned out to be Kaya Turski day again. Would it be possible for the reigning champion to maintain her position at the top in the coming years by further enhancing her skills, or would she falter in front
of the competition that is already gaining on her, coming too close for comfort this year? Only time will tell.
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