X GAMES SUPERPIPE FINALS

Following a wild Men’s Slopestyle Eliminations, day one of X Games wrapped up in Aspen, Colorado last night with the always classic Women’s and Men’s Superpipe Finals under the lights.

It was ladies first to start, with a field of eight of the top female halfpipe skiers on the planet going head-to-head over the course of three runs.

Once the dust had settled on a chilly evening, following what was without question the most impressive showing in the history of the sport (which the late and great legend Sarah Burke would be proud of) and the final event of the retiring Ayana Onozuka’s storied career, relative newcomer and Canada’s very own Rachael Karker, who turned heads with an out of nowhere podium performance at Dew Tour, unleashed a series of stylish corked out spins to score a bronze medal in her first appearance at X.

In second was the Estonian triple threat, Kelly Sildaru, who is competing in pipe, slopestyle and big air over the course of the week, and proved why with a pristinely technical run that included back-to-back 900s and a switch 900 at the bottom.

But in the end, it was Olympic gold medalist Cassie Sharpe’s night. The Comox, British Columbia native, after sitting in second for the most of the comp, came out swinging on her third and final run, with back-to-back cork 9s and a massive cork 1080 at the bottom to win what she’s wanted so badly but has strangely eluded her over the years: X Games gold.

RESULTS

1) Cassie Sharpe - 94.00
2) Kelly Sildaru - 92.33
3) Rachael Karker - 86.33
4) Brita Sigourney - 84.66
5) Maddie Bowman - 83.33
6) Ayana Onozuka - 75.00
7) Devin Logan - 64.66
8) Annalisa Drew - 59.00

After the ladies side of things concluded, it was the men’s turn for their kick at the can, with a deep and talented field of 10 taking to the immaculate pipe.

While past winners Aaron Blunck, Simon d’Artois and Kevin Rolland dealt with some struggles throughout the night, in third was Olympic bronze medalist Nico Porteous, who lit it up with textbook and teched-out left and right double 12s, complemented by the refreshing style that anyone who’s been following the youngsters’ fast track to the top has come to expect of him.

In second was two-time Olympic gold medalist, Captain America David Wise, who after sitting outside the podium for the duration of the event, dropped in for the final run of the night and unleashed a switch double and left and right double 12s to score himself a shiny silver medal.

And last but not least, to the delight of his hometown crowd, Aspen’s wild child Alex Ferreira, who’s been a bridesmaid but never a bride at X Games, grabbed his first gold medal with a run that consisted of not one, two or three, but four double corks, capped off by his trademark pole spin at the bottom.

RESULTS

1) Alex Ferreira - 92.66
2) David Wise - 90.33
3) Nico Porteous - 89.00
4) Kevin Rolland - 87.66
5) Birk Irving - 69.66
6) Noah Bowman - 66.33
7) Simon d’Artois - 65.33
8) Aaron Blunck - 57.00
9) Taylor Seaton - 52.33
10) Gus Kenworthy - 28.66

Stay tuned for an update on day two of X Games, which is currently underway, and for more information on the event, visit xgames.com.