Freeskiing
Mark McMorris enters the Winter X Games record books with victory in Aspen
Canadian superstar Mark McMorris wins a sixth Slopestyle title, while Norway's Marcus Kleveland takes gold in Big Air during a thrilling three days in Colorado.
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Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris continued his Beijing preparations in style as he captured his 10th Winter X Games gold medal, edging out Marcus Kleveland in an enthralling Slopestyle final in Aspen.
McMorris landed a switch backside triple cork 1620 stalefish, a frontside triple cork 1440 Weddle and a backside triple cork 1620 Indy on his fourth run to win a record-breaking sixth Slopestyle title – overtaking the mark of snowboarding legend Shaun White.
Norway’s Kleveland was forced to settle for silver but quickly got over the disappointment as he dominated the Big Air event to win a sixth career X Games gold medal. His best two scores of 82 defeating Max Parrot and Rene Rinnekangas, while McMorris just missed out on a medal as he finished in fourth place.
Kleveland claimed two gold medals in Aspen
© Lorenz Richard/Red Bull Content Pool
This was the 22-year-old’s second gold of the Games, having already triumphed in the Snowboard Knuckle Huck where Fridtjof Sæther Tischendorf took silver and Dusty Henricksen claimed bronze.
There was also success for Scotty James. The Australian got back on the podium's top step ahead of great Japanese rivals Ayumu Hirano and Kaishu Hirano to win his fourth Winter X Games gold in the Men's Snowboard SuperPipe.
It was perfect preparation for the 27-year-old as he looks to claim his first Games gold in China next month.
French freestyle skier Tess Ledeux continued her excellent run of form as she claimed two golds in Aspen. The 20-year-old put down three excellent runs to post a combined best score of 94 to claim the Big Air title before holding off Swiss star Mathilde Gremaud and taking victory in the Ski Slopestyle final.
Porteous stomped back-to-back 1620s
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
To do it for the first time on the fourth run, that's what dreams are made of
In the Men’s Ski SuperPipe final, New Zealand’s Nico Porteous landed back-to-back 1620s to retain his title from Aaron Blunck and David Wise with Canadian Noah Bowman fourth and American Birk Irving fifth.
"I really wanted to do that switch 14, and it didn't quite go the way I wanted it to first run," the 20-year-old told the Aspen Times. "I switched up the plan and messed it up on the third run, but to come back and do it all for the first time on the fourth, that's what dreams are made of."
Estonia's Kelly Sildaru also tasted success in Aspen, edging out Brita Sigourney and Hanna Faulhaber at Buttermilk Ski Resort to land the Women's Ski SuperPipe title and claim her sixth Winter X Games gold.
Queralt Castellet earned her third career Winter X Games medal as the Spaniard took silver Snowboard SuperPipe behind winner Sena Tomita, with Haruna Matsumoto third and American Maddie Mastro back in fifth.
Castellet narrowly missed out on the Snowboard SuperPipe title
© Lorenz Richard/Red Bull Content Pool
Japanese snowboarder Miyabi Onitsuka also secured a medal, grabbing bronze in the Women's Snowboard Big Air with her best two scores of 78.00, leaving her behind winner Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Jamie Anderson.
Elsewhere, home favourite Mac Forehand was unlucky not to take gold in the Men's Ski Big Air as his best two scores of 92 lost out to fellow American Alex Hall, with Canadian Teal Harle third and Matěj Švancer fifth.
Forehand also narrowly missed out on a medal in the Ski Slopestyle event as he finished in fourth, while Švancer took sixth place in the Ski Knuckle Huck. While in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle, Austrian Anna Gasser finished fifth, and American Hailey Langland was seventh.
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