Sarah Burke regains her throne at Winter X Games 15
The Canadian pro skier lived up to her repute at the Winter X Games 15 by achieving yet another landmark. Sarah Burke prevailed in the Winter X SuperPipe competition and took home the gold medal. Californian skier Brita Sigourney won silver. Another Canadian
pro skier, Roz Groenewould, managed to achieve bronze.
A tough contest at the Buttermilk Ski resort was inevitable, as the top 6 skiers were going neck and neck.
Sarah Burke had barely managed to secure a position in the final 6 after the elimination rounds ended on 26 January, with her best score of 79.00. Her final’s first run was definitely nothing to write home about either as she crashed on her second-hit 900.
However, she came down strongly on the others in her second run, earning a huge score of 91.33, which remained her best. This 91.33 run included a corked 900, back-to-back flairs, and a 720 at the end. This run kept her in the lead till the end, helping her
clinch her fourth gold medal.
Californian Brita Sigourney made her first X Game appearance and met success in the very first year, ending up with a silver medal. Her run included a 540, 900, alley-oop 540 and 720. Her second run earned her a score of 86.00, remaining her best, and saw her
off to a second position. Sigourney received the loudest cheers from the crowd, who went even more berserk every time she came down to the bottom of the pipe.
Roz Groenewoud managed to grab the bronze medal after her third run that earned her a score of 84.00. It included three 900 in a row, back-to-back 540s, a leftside 360 and switch down the pipe 540.
Anais Caradeux from France ended up at the fourth position with her best score of 82.33.
Jen Hudak, the reigning champion from Colorado, had to face disappointment this year. After failing to pull off a 720 in her first run, the defending champion kept her second run a little conservative, pulling off a 900, 540, alley-oop 500 and 720. It was her
final run where she wanted to make an impact and defend her title by doing something extraordinary. The trick was about to come in the form of a first-ever 1080 in a women SuperPipe competition. Hudak almost pulled it off, but was not good enough as she ended
up crashing. She found herself at the fifth position with her best score of 78.00.
Devin Logan, pro skier from Vermont, came sixth with her best score of 68.33.
The skier of the night, Sarah Burke, was returning to the Winter X Games after recovering from a shoulder surgery that she had underwent last summer. She had been cleared by her doctors just two weeks before the competition.
"It feels great," Burke said, "and all it took was nine hard days of training."
Prior to winning the gold at this year’s tournament, Burke had five medals to her name. Three gold medals she won in the 2007, 2008, and 2009 SlopeStyle at Winter X and the two silver in 2005-06. With such an amazing record, Sarah Burke is the best park skier
ever.
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