Winter X Games 15: Sizzling hot event on the last day
The sunrise on 30th of January in Aspen marked the beginning of the end for Winter X Games 15. The most hyped winter sports event entered the last day of extreme sporting action and thrill that we had been treated to since the 27th of January.
If there was anyone who thought that they already experienced the amazing that WX had to offer, they were proven wrong in the most satisfying manner possible. This year, the WX closed off with a real bang.
The last day of WX’s fifteenth anniversary kicked off with the women’s Snowboard Slopestyle final. Nothing could be more refreshing than watching 10 beautiful women battle it out for gold. After what was nothing short of sensational, it was Finland’s Enni
Rukajarvi who walked away with the gold on her debut in the WX.
The rookie attained the throne after pulling off a 50/50 and 180 out, one more 50/50, a backside 360, front side 360, a backside 540 and a cab 720 over the Money Booter, earning a score of 92.66 to secure the win. The defending champion, Britain’s Jenny
Jones, was on a gold medal hat-trick but failed to get her 3-peat and settled for a silver medal with her best score of 89.33.
California’s Jamie Anderson took home the bronze this year with the score of 86.00, the fall-out while attempting the 7’s diminishing her chances at finding a higher place on the podium. Undoubtedly, the most dominating woman in women’s Slopestyle history,
Anderson accepted the final result in high spirits. “You definitely get bummed when you know you can do better and you don't, but I'm stoked for the girls who did do better,” said Anderson.
Moments after the women’s Snowboard Slopestyle final ended, the men’s Skier X final commenced. There were twenty-seven skiers, three medals, one winner. At least 24 hearts were going to be broken, but fortunately for John Teller, Chris Del Bosco and Casey
Puckett, they found themselves out of the list after ending up in the top three. John Teller, from California, won his first WX medal after an intense race with Colorado’s Chris Del Bosco to the finish.
Teller bested Bosco by a mere 0.03 seconds, or in terms of skis, by half a ski. Teller’s finish time was 1:21.167, whereas Bosco’s time was 1:21.197. Pushing the defending gold medallist Bosco to silver this year, Teller placed the gold medal next to his
heart. Casey Puckett, Aspen’s local, earned the bronze after finishing at 1:21.979.
While the men were facing off in Skier X final, the ladies had their own Skier X final underway. The women’s Skier X final remained gripping throughout, but what came at the end would have caused the weak of heart to faint. After a bloody finish to the race,
Canada’s Kelsey Serwa and French Ophelia David the skiers crashed after the final jump.
Serwa managed to cross the finish line first and clinch the gold medal, which she celebrated only after getting the immediate attention from the paramedics. Her finish time was 1:28.830. David found little consolation in her silver medal and seemed to lack
enthusiasm, after an unsuccessful four-peat.
“My last chance to pass Kelsey was if I didn't brake before the last jump,” David said. “It didn't work, but it was my last option. Right now I'm not so happy. Maybe I'll be happier in an hour.”
She passed the finish line at 1:129.162. f***y Smith, the 18-year-old from Switzerland, celebrated the bronze medal, excited over landing the podium in just her second WX.
The next event to unfold at Aspen was the Snowmobile Adaptive SnoCross. Making a return to the WX after making a debut last year, this discipline involved eight disabled action sports athletes battling it out for the top position on the same course as the
regular SnoCross. The man who emerged as the winner this year was none other than the legendary Mike Schultz from Minnesota. He managed to reach the finish line in 5:11.704.
Finishing at 5:53.741, Jeff Tet took home the silver and Jim Wazny, 5:55.078, walked away with the bronze. Where the world was simply looking at these people’s disabilities, this event helped these athletes to expose the world to their abilities.
The first four events must have gotten a lot of hearts to beat faster because of the non-stop action. Although four gold medals were already awarded, the day was far from over. A lot more was yet to come.
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