Shaun White ends three-year drought with Snowboard Slopestyle gold at Winter X Games Tignes 2012
The only thing better than winning a gold medal at Winter X Games is to win two gold medals and that is the exact joy that Shaun White managed to experience while making his debut at the European version of the ESPN-hosted mega-event of winter action sports
in Tignes, France, on Friday, March 16.
The 25-year-old Californian had faced a huge disappointment at Winter X Games in Aspen earlier this year when an injury during practice forced him to miss the Snowboard Slopestyle contest. However, he got his chance to take on the best riders from around
the globe last week and he had no intention for letting the opportunity go to waste this time.
With the likes of Canada’s Mark McMorris, a double gold medallist at Winter X Games Aspen 2012, along with America’s Eric Willett in contention for the top honours, White sure had his work cut out for him.
Despite a three-year slopestyle victory drought, White was hardly the sort of person who was expected to feel any pressure while taking on the best in slopestyle contest. The gold medal run in the Snowboard SuperPipe event on Thursday, March 15, was just
the sort of confidence booster that the Carlsbad-based rider needed before heading into a battle that was expected to be nothing short of exhilarating.
Clad in black with his long red hair sticking out of his helmet, White began his pursuit of the gold medal and ended up posting a 95.00-point Run 1 to grab an early lead, immediately putting the rest of the field under pressure.
Rather than taking it easy, the Californian rider stepped up his riding even further to land an even more phenomenal Run 2, which featured a switch double cork 1080 and two double cork 1260 landed in a row. The outstanding run improved his intimidating Run
1 score of 95.00 to an intimidating 97.00, cementing his lead even further. The score held up until the end to put him on the highest spot on the podium, making it a 2 for 2 for him at his very first Winter X Games Europe.
“These guys have been pushing the limits of what's possible in the Slopestyle course and they put the gauntlet in front of me,” White said. “I think I've finally caught up and I'm happy to be back.”
Despite an excellent run at Aspen earlier this year, McMorris found the gold getting out of his reach once again in a matter of two days. He landed a really impressive 90.00-point Run 1, which included a front-side cab 1080 and front-side double cork 1080,
but was unable to complete his remaining runs and therefore had to settle for a silver medal.
“It's been a good contest. The weather's nice, the jumps are big, the rails are heavier than last year. Obviously, Shaun is back,” McMorris said after the podium presentation. “Back in black. I'm just going to have to come back and beat him next year.”
The 24-year-old Willett failed to make much of an impact during his first two runs, but bounced back strongly in Run 3, landing a couple of double cork 1080s, to post an 88.00 on the score-board.
Humble as ever, the Breckenridge-based rider conceded that even though he was ecstatic to make the podium, he strongly felt that Norway’s Ståle Sandbech or Aleksander Oestreng deserved to be in his place due to their excellent performances.
Regardless of what Willett believed, the judges had made their choice, one that very few people could argue with.
Canada’s Sebastien Toutant and America’s Chas Guldemond finished in sixth and seventh place respectively after finishing with a best-run score of 77.33 and 76.00 respectively.
Surrounded by heavy-weights of snowboarding, White sure knew how to stand out and leave everyone in awe. McMorris, Toutant and others may not have been expecting their American rival to dominate them so convincingly, but now that they are aware of the fact
that White is back, it might help them with the preparations and enable them to offer a stronger challenge. That is exactly what the snowboarding fans would be hoping to witness.
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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