For the first time, Special Olympics Unified Snowboarding will invite 10 Special Olympics athletes to compete at X Games Aspen 2015.
Special Olympics athletes will be paired with an X Games athletes to compete in a dual giant slalom race competing for X Games medals. Special Olympics athletes will compete on the slalom course in a head-to-head race, followed by their teammates racing against each other on the same course. Each teams’ scores will be a combination of the Special Olympics athlete and their teammates’ time to determine final ranking.
Athletes confirmed to compete include:
Hannah Teter, Snowboard SuperPipe (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.)
- Six-time X Games medalist in…
- 2010 Winter Olympics halfpipe silver medalist for U.S.
- 2006 Winter Olympics halfpipe gold medalist for U.S.
Mitchie Brusco, Skateboard Vert and Big Air (Encinitas, Calif.)
- Five-time X Games medalist in…
- Landed the first 1080 in a competition in Skateboard Big Air at X Games Barcelona 2013
Scotty James, Snowboard SuperPipe (Warrandyte, Australia)
- Two-time Winter Olympian representing Australia (2010, 2014)
- Youngest Australian to compete at the Winter Olympics in history at age 15
- Won FIS 2015 World Snowboard Championship
- Two-time X Games competitor
Torah Bright, Snowboard SuperPipe (Cooma, Australia)
- Two-time X Games Snowboard SuperPipe gold medalist
- 2014 Winter Olympics silver medalist
- 2010 Winter Olympics gold medalist
- Won ESPY for Best Female Action Sports Athlete in 2010
Josh Kerr, Surfing (Snapper Rocks, Australia)
- 2012 Billabong Pipe Masters, second place
- 2001, 2003 Airshow World Champion
- 2014 ASP GoPro Challenge winner
Elena Hight, Snowboard SuperPipe (Lake Tahoe, Calf.)
- Five-time X Games medalist
- First female to land a 900 in a Snowboard SuperPipe competition
- First person to land a double alley-oop backside rodeo in competition at X Games Aspen
- Featured in ESPN The Magazine’s 2013 Body Issue
Chris Klug, Parallel Giant Slalom (Aspen, Colo.)
- 2002 Winter Olympics bronze medalist in parallel giant slalom
- 2002 National Kidney Foundation U.S. Transplant Games bronze medalist
- Three-time X Games competitor in Snowboarder X and UltraCross
Ken Block, RallyCar & RallyCross (Park City, Utah)
- Three-time X Games medalist in Rally….
- Block’s Gymkhana videos have generated more than 5.5 million YouTube views
- Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of DC Shoes
Jamie Anderson, Snowboard Special Olympics Dual Slalom, Slopestyle (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.)
- Four-time X Games gold medalist in snowboard slopestyle
- 2014 Winter Olympics gold medalist in snowboard slopestyle
- Featured on the 2014 ESPN The Magazine Body issue cover
Danny Davis, Snowboard SuperPipe & Snowboard Special Olympics Dual Slalom (Highland, Mich.)
- 2014 X Games Aspen gold medalist in Snowboard SuperPipe
- Represented Team U.S.A. at the 2014 Winter Olympics
- Featured in World of X Games show “Peace Park” in November 2014
Ariel Ho-Kjaer, Snowboarder (Hong Kong, China)
Special Olympics athletes expected to compete include: Shannon Sullivan (Alaska), Cody Field (Colo.), Charles Gutierrez (Colo.), Jonathan “Beau” Karlen (Minn.), Zachary Elder (N.Y.), Henry Meece (Ore.), Carson Geiger (Utah), Craig Daly (Wash.), Daina Shilts, (Wis.) and Ty Mahan (Wyo.).
If you’re in Aspen, you can catch the Special Olympics Unified Snowboarding Final at Dual Giant Slalom Course (above the Big Air course) on Thursday, January 22 at 3 p.m. MT.
