The Olympic skier and snowboarder prevail in the 26th edition of the Arctic Man Classic
The 26h Annual Tesoro Arctic Man Classic wrapped up on the 9th of April at the Summit Lake in Paxson, Alaska. US Ski Team’s Marco Sullivan teamed up with snowmobile rider, Tyler Acklestad, to pull off a victory in the men’s ski division. The 2006
Olympian in Snowboard Cross, Jayson Hale, got together with Tyson Johnson to clinch victory in the men’s snowboard division.
Sullivan and Acklestad managed to finish the race in 4:17 minutes to clinch the first place in the ski division for the second time in the last four years. The victory was indeed a welcomed one for the Olympic skier, since his current season had turned out
to be disappointing so far. He was forced out of the Alpine World Cup season after getting his head smashed and ending up with a concussion. After remaining absent from the competitive stage for the last three months, he was feeling fit enough to make a comeback
at the Arctic Man. Rather than just showing to the world that he had recovered from the crash, he actually went on to win the contest, making a strong statement about his current form.
The sensational performance at the contest earned him and Acklestad a cheque of US$26,000.
The men’s snowboard division’s winner, Hale, also had not made his way to the contest with a very confident season behind him. His failure to perform consistently throughout the season had left him in a huge financial crisis. When the time for the Arctic
Man arrived, he did not even have enough money to buy himself a ticket to Alaska. He called up his snowmobile partner, Johnson, to inform him that he would be unable to make it to the event this year.
However, just a day before the event started, Hale received a call from Howie Thies, the founder of the Arctic Man. Thies offered to pay for Hale’s ticket, making it clear to him that he expected a payback once the Olympian rider won the contest and got
hold of the prize money.
Hale and his partner Johnson prevailed over their competition and got themselves a prize cheque of US$13,000. Talking about the post-victory interaction with Thies, the 25-year-old Hale said, “So after my run, I see Howie and he's like, 'Hey Hale! How'd
you do?' And I'm like, 'I won!' And he goes, 'Good gamble! I get my money back!'”
The Olympic skier and rider, along with their respective snowmobile partners, will not be forgetting their memorable trip to Alaska anytime soon.
In a rather unique race, the Arctic Man features teams of two skilled competitors, comprising of a skier or snowboarder and a snowmobile rider. The team has to work together in order to finish the race in the shortest time. The unconventional format of the
contest and the attractive prize money on offer is a source of attraction for action sports athletes from all around the world.
“Better riders are finding out about this,” Hale said. “It's becoming a more serious competition. People like Nate are changing up their boards, and we actually all wore speed suits, which we swore we'd never do.”
This year’s contest continued to deliver on the thrilling action that the Arctic Man has delivered in its’ previous edition. With the event attracting more and more renowned athletes every year, one can only expect the battles to become more exciting and
intense.
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