Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) came through with a third-run miracle to beat Kevin Pearce (Norwich, VT) in the X Games men’s halfpipe finals to become the first man to win back to back gold medals in pipe.
Winter X Games.
“Kevin had some beastly runs in there. I was trying to step up my game to beat his run,” White said. “Standing at the top I knew if I just launched that back rodeo first hit as high as I could, I could put a dent in his score.”
The never before attained gold repeat had the red zeppelin second guessing himself after not landing a 1080 on his first two runs. But the third time was a charm.
“I was feeling cursed. I didn’t think I’d need three runs to get it done. I was standing up there letting that second win in halfpipe linger on my mind. I knew I had the run in me and I needed to put it down, so I just put it down.,” White said. “The crowd is just amazing. I love coming out here. It’s not always the best weather for the pipe finals, but we love it.”
White Goes Big.
U.S. Snowboarding’s Elijah Teter (South Lake Tahoe, CA) had a standout night, sticking his unique run of backside 7, switch method, cab 10, front 7, switch alleyoop McTwist to finish fourth – his highest X Games result.
“I’m feeling really good. It just felt awesome to put down that one run,” Teter said. “One of the tricks I hadn’t done too much, but I was going for it. With a little more practice I’ll get her dialed in and stomp it.”
Putting in the practice hours is what will continue to boost Teter from here according to U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Head Coach Mike Jankowski.
“Elijah has worked so hard to get to where he is. We feel like he’s doing everything right and everything is in place for him to really make a surge forward right now,” Jankowski said. “His result in the X Games proves again that he is a world-class rider and he’s got what it takes to make it to the next level and stand on the podium.”
For now, though, Teter says he’s stoked to take fourth.
“Just to put down a run like that and not have it be the biggest but still get rewarded is just awesome. It felt so good,” Teter said.
Two-time X Games gold medalist Steve Fisher (Breckenridge, CO) was also tearing up the pipe, but some variable conditions kept him from going as big as he would have liked.
The Billion Dollar Man.
“Steve had some good runs but he wasn’t able to get his last trick in. He was going to do a cab 1080, but he only had the speed for a cab 900. As the contest progressed, the snow was falling and the speed was definitely an issue there,” Jankowski said. “He’s been putting in lots of hard work and he’s in a really good place in his riding right now. While it wasn’t the result that he wanted, it was definitely a good night for Steve.”
Halfpipe action now heads west for the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Boreal Resort in Truckee where Louie Vito (Sandy, UT) and Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) try to go two for two on Grand Prix wins this season.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 WINTER X GAMES
Aspen, CO – Jan. 25, 2009
Men’s Halfpipe
1. Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA, 91.66
2. Kevin Pearce, Norwich, VT, 90.66
3. Antti Autti, Finland, 87.33
4. Elijah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 86.00
5. Mason Aguirre, Bishop, CA, 76.00
6. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, CO, 75.33
7. Andy Finch, Truckee, CA, 70.00
8. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 55.00
