Action continued at Buttermilk on Friday (January 24) during X Games Aspen 2020, with a few more eliminations in Jeep Men’s Ski Slopestyle and The Real Cost Men’s Snowboard Big Air before awarding medals in Snowmobile Freestyle, Women’s Ski Big Air, Great Clips Men’s Ski SuperPipe Elimination, The Real Cost Men’s Ski Big Air and closing out with another new discipline, Snowboard SuperPipe Session.
(Photo by Eric Lars Bakke / ESPN Images)
After taking gold in the first-ever Ski Knuckle Huck last night, X Games rookie Colby Stevenson took the top spot in the Jeep Men’s Ski Slopestyle Elimination, where his run included a pretzel 630 and 360 switchup on the rails, switch rightside 1260, rightside down the pipe double 700 and rightside double cork 900 on the jumps. Nick Goepper, a previous winner of the discipline, also moved onto the final along with Andri Ragettli, Fabian Boesch and Evan McEachran.
The Real Cost Men’s Snowboard Big Air Elimination saw X Games Norway 2019 gold medalist Max Parrot throw down a cab triple 1600 and a back triple 1440 in the jam session format scored on overall impression take the top spot. Parrot won gold in Norway in August after finishing treatment for Hodgkin Lymphoma cancer and completing 12 chemotherapy treatments. Parrot and last year’s medalists will be joined by Mons Roisland, Darcy Sharpe, Ryo Aizawa, Yuki Kadono and Rene Rinnekangas.
(Photo by Eddie Perlas / ESPN Images)
In his winning run during Snowmobile Freestyle, X Games rookie Brandon Cormier threw a Switchblade flip, double grab Hart attack, Cordova flip, cliffhanger, superflip and a never-before-seen body varial. Cormier bested Daniel Bodin, two-time winner of the discipline who took silver, and Willie Elam, who took his second bronze in the discipline.
“Came out gold somehow, rookie year…that’s insane!” Cormier said after receiving his gold medal. “My dad is probably so stoked!”
(Photo by Gabriel Christus / ESPN Images)
France’s Tess Ledeux took gold in Women’s Ski Big Air, her fifth X Games medal and second gold. Her tricks included a double cork 1260 and a switch left 1080. Mathilde Gremaud, the only other woman to take two golds in the discipline, took silver and Swiss skier Sarah Hoefflin was bronze. A favorite in all three women’s ski disciplines, teenage phenom Kelly Sildaru just missed the podium and placed fourth.
“I haven’t made any finals in any Big Air contests this season because they just haven’t worked out for me so getting third place at X Games is just on another level,” bronze medalist Hoefflin says.
Winter Park, Colo.’s Birk Irving earned the top qualifying spot in the Great Clips Men’s Ski SuperPipe Elimination, where his run included a big cork 900, an alley oop flatspin and a down-the-pipe flat 360 in the last minute of the jam session. Aspen’s Aaron Blunck, Noah Bowman and Brendan McKay also qualified.
(Photo by Eddie Perlas / ESPN Images)
Once again, Swedish rider Henrik Harlaut showcased his dominance in The Real Cost Men’s Ski Big Air to become the winningest skier in X Games history. With the gold medal, Harlaut surpassed Tanner Hall’s record of 10 medals with a jam full of double and triple cork 1620s. Harlaut did the first-ever switch 1620 on skis 11 years ago, and brought it back in stylish fashion for the first time tonight. This is Harlaut’s sixth gold medal. Norwegian Birk Ruud and Swiss skier Andrei Ragettli rounded out the podium.
“My second run was a switch dub bio 16. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile. I did the two first switch 16s on skis 11 years ago, but didn’t really want to push it in that direction,” Harlaut said about his winning run. “I’ve been working on my style for 11 years, trying to perfect it and tonight was the perfect night to bring it out with some flavor.”
(Photo by Eddie Perlas / ESPN Images)
The first-ever Snowboard SuperPipe Session closed out the night with a stylish jam session where Taylor Gold took the inaugural gold. Gold battled with silver medalist Jake Pates and bronze medalist Toby Miller throughout the jam session, ultimately earning his first X Games medal. This was also the first X Games medal for Pates and Miller.
“I love the new format,” Gold says. “It definitely caters to more creativity, which we really need in halfpipe riding especially and overall in snowboarding.”
(Photo by Trevor Brown, Jr. / ESPN Images)
Night two came to a close with an epic performance from hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd. The guys certainly turned things up at the X Games, regularly jumping into the crowd and hyping their fans. Their energy-filled set began with famed single “No Type,” followed by crowd favorites like “No Flex Zone” and “Swang.” These top charters were followed up by classics including “Throw Sum Mo,” “Unforgettable,” “Black Beatles” and “Changed Up,” during which Swae Lee invited a fan to free-style on the mic.
X Games Aspen continues tomorrow with Jeep Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Para Snow BikeCross, Jeep Men’s Ski Slopestyle, Adaptive Snow BikeCross, Jeep Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Wendy’s Snow BikeCross, Women’s Ski SuperPipe, The Real Cost Men’s Snowboard Big air and Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe.
Following competition, melodic bass producer ILLENIUM and Grammy-nominated producer and electronic music titan Alesso continue music on the GEICO stage.
Keep up with everything X Games Aspen 2020 by following us on Instagram at @celebsecrets and clicking here for interviews with medalists and more.
