Clark, en route to Winter X gold, Photo: Mark Kohlman/ESPN Action Sports
. world ski news : Winter X Games 2011 Day 3 - 30 ßíóàðè 2011 - 08:26
WINTER X GAMES. Winter X rookie Alex Schlopy shocked favorites Bobby Brown and Sammy Carlson with a 1620 to win gold in the Big Air final. Kelly Clark dusted the SuperPipe field, saving the first 1080 in women's competition for her victory lap. Day 3 of the Winter X Games 15.
Sal Masekela with a recap of Day 3 at the Winter X Games:
Nick Baumgartner spoils six-peat bid
First-time Winter X champ seizes holeshot and pushes Nate Holland to third
Snowboard Snowboarder X Men's Final
Nate Holland's unprecedented winning streak had to end sometime, but nobody expected a construction worker with a broken collarbone to be the one who ended it.
That's what happened in Saturday's Snowboarder X final, as veteran Nick Baumgartner overcame 15 screws and a plate in his neck to win his first medal in seven tries. Baumgartner broke the bone while training at Copper Mountain 13 days ago, after not being selected to compete at the World Championships. He underwent surgery the next morning and though he said the pain wasn't too bad Saturday, he had to get someone else to pull his jersey off.
When he won, he grabbed his 6-year-old son, Landon, and hoisted him into the air. "To see the look on his face, to have your boy proud of you, there's nothing better," Baumgartner said.
Holland took bronze, then was involved in a confrontation with reigning World Cup champion Pierre Vaultier in the finish corral. Vaultier shouted: "That's not racing!" and gestured as if Holland had pushed him while on course. Holland stuck his middle finger up at Vaultier and yelled back, "Watch the film!" The two then stood nose to nose before walking away.
Canada's Kevin Hill took silver, the best result of his career, but the day belonged to the man Holland calls a "freight train."
"I was hungry for this," said Baumgartner, 29, a 205-pound former college linebacker from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. "I came out to Colorado two weeks early because I didn't get picked for the World Championship team, but that gave me more time to train for this. Unfortunately that's when I broke my collarbone, but it almost got me in the right mindset, because I wasn't worried about getting out there and killing everyone. I just wanted to have fun and stay upright."
As for Holland, he still beat his longtime rival Seth Wescott by one place, but he looked slower on the flats and never had a chance to make a move for the win. "There wasn't anything different," he said. "I stepped in the gate, and if you would've asked me up there, I would've been like, yeah I'm going to win this."
He added: "It is kind of bittersweet, but I can't complain. I had an amazing streak of five in a row, and I'm on the podium today. I'm definitely proud to be up here."
By Devon O'Neil
ESPN Action Sports
January 30, 2011, 2:13 AM ET
Carlson earns first ski Slopestyle gold
In his sixth Winter X, Sammy Carlson gets his first Slopestyle gold
Skiing Slopstyle Men's Final
Sammy Carlson won the men's ski Slopestyle finals at Winter X 15 Saturday in Aspen, Colo. Australian Russ Henshaw, who qualified first for Slopestyle finals, earned second place. And Norway's Andreas Håtveit got the bronze.
"It's been so long," Carlson said. "I've wanted this since I was a little kid. I've got my whole family here with me. Nothing feels better than this."
This is Carlson's sixth appearance at Winter X Games, but his first gold medal. He's been on the podium three times before -- silver in 2007, 2009 and bronze in 2010. In a pre-Winter X interview, Carlson told ESPN that a Winter X gold was at the top of his list of unfulfilled goals.
It was Carlson's first run that earned him the day's highest score, a 93.33. Carlson's jumps -- a double rodeo 9, a switch double rodeo 9, and a double cork 10 -- were comparable to those of the other competitors in the top five. But it was Carlson's technical rail tricks, highlighted by a 450 on to a 630 off the rainbow rail, that differentiated him from the field.
Henshaw's first run scored a 90.66 to put him into second place. He knew while he was skiing it that the run had a chance at the win, if only he could execute it well. "I was just thinking to myself, 'Land, land, land,'" said Henshaw. "It feels great to have done it."
In run three, the sun dipped below the horizon. And with the whole course in the shade, competitors were having trouble dealing with the increase in speed. Håtveit, who had had trouble on his first two runs, was the only competitor in the final run to ski the course cleanly. The score he earned, a 90.00, was good enough to put him in third place, pushing defending champ Bobby Brown down to fourth.
"Finally, I put it all together," Håtveit said in reference to his bronze medal run. And then, looking over to his brother, Jon, Håtveit said, "Are you proud of me, brother?"
By John Symms and Megan Michelson
ESPN Action Sports
January 30, 2011, 1:57 AM ET
She's a perfect 10
Kelly Clark Win Snowboard SuperPipe Gold
Snowboard SuperPipe Women's Final
At the ripe age of 27, Kelly Clark is having the season of her life. She has won every major pipe competition she's won so far, save one. She's on track to win the Burton Global Open series, the TTR World Tour and the Dew Cup, and tonight the 2002 Winter Olympic gold medalist not only took home her first Winter X SuperPipe gold medal since 2006, she became the first woman to land a 1080 in competition.
Clark, en route to Winter X gold, Photo: Mark Kohlman/ESPN Action Sports
Defending and four-time gold medalist Gretchen Bleiler fell hard in her first run and couldn't seem to shake it off for the rest of the evening, while two-time gold medalist and reigning Olympic champ Torah Bright was absent from the comp, choosing instead to focus on Sunday's Slopestyle event.
Clark landed the 1080 in practice on Thursday, leaving many to wonder if she'd try to pull it again tonihgt. After a first-run score of 92.33 secured the win, she used her third and final run as a victory lap, threw the 1080 and rode away clean.
"It's been an incredible night. To have a victory lap like that and set it down at the X Games is amazing," Clark said. "I've been working on that for a long time and I couldn't think of a better place for it to come together."
Idaho's Kaitlyn Farrington, winner of last year's inaugural Winter X Games Europe, and the only woman to beat Clark this season, came in second place with a stylish backside 900. California's Elena Hight rounded out the podium. "It's inspirational for sure," said Farrington about Clark's 10. "It means we all have to learn 10s now if we ever want to beat her."
ESPN Action Sports
January 30, 2011, 1:57 AM ET
Alex Schlopy wins Big Air
Skiing Big Air Final
Besting a tough effort from reigning champ Bobby Brown, rookie Alex Schlopy won Winter X men's ski Big Air Saturday night. Brown took second. Sammy Carlson got the bronze, his second medal of the day after winning men's Slope earlier.
Schlopy earned a score of 92 with a switch double cork 14 and a double cork 16, a trick he'd never done before the contest. "Once you get up top, you're just hanging there and stuff kind of just happens," said Schlopy. "I saw a couple people try that 16 and I just had to try it, too. And it worked out."
Brown's score of 89 left him in the second spot. After battling through an injury from the men's Slope earlier in the day, he was completely satisfied with his silver. "I hurt myself at Dew Tour in Vermont and it flared up again," Brown said. "But I felt good during the Big Air. I'm happy to be on the podium with these two guys." The injury was in a similar area to a broken pelvis that Brown sustained last March while filming in Idaho.
Sammy Carlson's score of 87, good enough for the bronze, might have been much higher if the triple flip that he was rumored to be thinking about had come out. "Bobby and I have both stomped triples before, but they were on much bigger jumps," said Carlson. "I was warming up for it, but I kept slipping on the takeoff. It was icy out, so I couldn't get a solid set.
Russ Henshaw had to withdraw from the contest after he injured himself attempting a switch triple rodeo 12 in training, giving the rest of the competitors pause when considering their own triple attempts. "I think everyone checked that out and thought, 'Man, I don't know if it's going to be big enough,'" Brown said. "I know we all hope that Russ is going to be okay."
By John Symms and Megan Michelson
ESPN Action Sports
January 30, 2011, 2:06 AM ET
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NEXT: Winter X Games 15 finals
Sunday, Jan. 30
Snowboard Slopestyle Women's Final
Skiing Skier X Men's & Women's Final
Snowboard Slopestyle Men's Final
Mono Skier X Final
Snowboard SuperPipe Men's Final