Women’s Ski SuperPipe Final fills the air with excitement and emotions in Aspen
As the 16th edition of Winter X Games approached Women’s Ski SuperPipe contest on Saturday, January 28, the absence of Canada’s freeskier Sarah Burke was felt more strongly than ever. The ski half-pipe legend was due to defend her Winter X gold in Buttermilk at Aspen, Colorado, but fate had other plans in store for her. On January 10, 2012, Burke sustained serious injuries while training at the Park City Mountain Resort Eagle superpipe in Park City, Utah. Even though the doctors at University Hospital in Salt Lake City put in a lot of effort to save her, the four-time Winter X gold medallist succumbed to her injuries in January 19.
Winter X Games Aspen 2012 had kicked off with a tribute to Burke and the athletes continued to compete in their respective contests wearing a red “Sarah” sticker on their helmets in tribute to the legendary freeskier.
However, the biggest tribute to Burke was definitely paid during the Winter Ski SuperPipe Final on Saturday afternoon. Competing for the coveted gold medal, the field of female freeskiers celebrated the memory of the Canadian superstar during their runs.
Canada’s Roz Groenewoud, better known as “Roz G” in the action sports community, stole the show during Saturday’s Final to collect her first Winter X gold. After a decent first run, the 22-year-old Calgary-native unleashed an phenomenal Run 2, throwing a massive 14-foot safety grab, a 900, back-to-back 540s, a left-side 720 and a switch 540 while travelling down the pipe, to earn the event’s highest-ever score of 93.66, with the previous record held by Burke.
A long-time friend of and team-mate of Burke, Groenewoud dedicated her gold medal to Burke, stating that throughout the Final it felt as if her friend was right next to her.
“It means so much,” said Groenewoud. “After the tribute for Sarah on Thursday I was just so proud to be a skier. The outpouring of love from the community was just absolutely amazing, and Friday morning in training and all of today I just tried to let all of that love lift me up. It feels so great. I definitely felt like I had Sarah with me. She was my teammate for so long.”
The new Women’s Ski SuperPipe Champion was supposed to represent Canada at the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia alongside Burke. If it had not been for the latter’s efforts, freeskiing and snowboarding would probably be still far from getting a place in Winter Olympics. It was indeed tragic to find the very person who had convinced the International Olympic Committee to add freeskiing to the Winter Olympics line-up unable to represent her country in Sochi.
America’s Maddie Bowman, who managed to put on the most consistent performances during the Women’s Ski SuperPipe Finals on Saturday, got hold of silver medal with her Run 2 score of 92.00. Medalling in just her second appearance at the Winter X Games was indeed a huge accomplishment for the Californian freeskier.
The last remaining spot on the podium was secured by America’s Brita Sigourney, who had finished just behind Burke in the previous edition of Winter X Games. The Carmel-native clinched the bronze medal after landing a 90.66-point Run 3. Of all the tributes that had been paid to Burke, the one paid by Sigourney was perhaps the biggest. During her bronze-medal run, the 22-year-old American threw a 1080, a trick that only Burke had been able to land successfully during a competition.
Even though the former Winter X gold medallist Burke was not physically present in Aspen during the Women’s Ski SuperPipe Final, her presence was felt during every run and every trick. Indeed it had turned out to be one of the most emotional contests in Winter X Games history.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
Tags: