X Games Day Two: U.S. Athletes Put on a Show
It was a jam-packed second day of competition at the 2024 Winter X Games in Aspen with top results across the board from several U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes.
Men's Freeski Big Air
Mac Forehand came in with a chip on his shoulder after a fifth place finish in last night’s big air and put on a show in his second run, scoring a massive 94.33 and catapulting him to the top spot. After an impressive rail section on run two, an unfortunate fall on the first of two jumps forced Hall to put all pressure on his third and final run to grab a spot on the podium. Showing no signs of pressure, Hall strung together an effortlessly clean top-to-bottom run to best teammate Forehand and grab his second silver of the weekend. Norway’s Birk Rudd was the only competitor able to best the two Americans and added another X-Games gold to his resume. Stifel U.S. Ski Team member Colby Stevenson made an impressive return to competition, just missing the podium and placing fourth overall.
Women’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck
Aspen 2024 marked the X Games discipline debut of the women’s snowboard knuckle huck, and although pulling out of competition, knuckle huck legend and Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team Jaime Anderson, who competed alongside the men in 2021, was on the sidelines to support. Wowing both spectators and judges with her trick innovation and signature steeze, It was Japan’s Kokomo Murase who made history, winning the first-ever X Games gold in the discipline.
Women’s Freeski Knuckle Huck
It was then time for the X Games debut of Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Rell Harwood and the freeski women’s knuckle huck. The field of competitors included athletes who are not typically seen on the traditional competition circuit, including American Taylor Lundquist who is widely considered a street skiing pioneer. Rell showed off her style and deep bag of tricks, earning her first X Games silver medal.
Men’s & Women’s Snowboard Street Style
Although not a medal-winning discipline, attention shifted to the park for the men’s and women’s snowboard street style competition, where Luke Winkelmann represented the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team in a field of legends of the street scene. Winkelmann proved he’s becoming a staple in the rail game, hanging with the likes of Zak Hale, Darcy Sharpe, Zeb Powell and Pat Fava. Winkelmann’s teammate and former X Games medalist Dusty Henricksen served as a guest judge and ultimately helped crown Fava as the winner. Winkelmann’s teammate Judd Henkes was set to compete but instead turned his focus towards tomorrow’s slopestyle competition.
Women’s Freeski SuperPipe
It was back to the SuperPipe to watch Stifel U.S. Ski Team members Svea Irving and Riley Jacobs drop in. Irving, the 2023 X Games bronze medalist in this event, and Jacobs, an X Games rookie, had their work cut out for them competing against the most highly anticipated skier of the weekend, China’s Eileen Gu. Gu, the three-time X Games medalist, was injured during Thursday’s SuperPipe practice causing her to withdraw from slopestyle, but showed no signs of injury as she continued the longest consecutive win streak in women’s halfpipe history, grabbing the X Games Gold. Zoe Atkin from Great Britain took silver and Canada’s Amy Fraser third, barely edging out Irving in the last run.
Irving ultimately ended the day in fourth, with Jacobs in sixth.
Women’s Freeski Big Air
Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete Rell Harwood was back in action for her second X Games event of the day, the women’s ski Big Air and ultimately took home her second X Games medal in the process, finishing the big air contest in third.
This is Harwood’s second medal of X Games in her debut appearance in Aspen, putting her name at the top of the list and solidifying herself as one of the dominant athletes at this year’s event.
Men’s Snowboard Big Air
Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team athlete and previous X Games bronze medalist Chris Corning represented the team in the men’s snowboard big air competition. With three-time defending X Games champion Marcus Kleveland of Norway out with a concussion and unable to contend for the four-peat, it was anyone’s game in the field of eight riders. Japanese rider Taiga Hasegawa won his first X Games gold medal, throwing a switch backside 1980 on his final run and securing his place at the top of the big air podium. Corning was edged out of podium contention by Norway’s Mons Røisland, finishing the day in fourth.
Men’s Freeski Knucklehuck
In the final event of the evening, the corral was packed with fans to watch the men’s freeski knuckle huck event, a contest that showcases a unique style of skiing - where athletes launch themselves off the knuckle of the big air jump. Throughout the event, each athlete threw down, showcasing their style on one of the sport’s biggest stages. At the end of the night, it was Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete and Olympic medalist Colby Stevenson who took home the X Games gold medal. Stevenson just returned from injury last weekend in the Laax Open in Laax, Switzerland, and only a handful of days later, he’s now an X Games knuckle huck champ. Alongside Stevenson was teammate Cody LaPlante who finished within the top five in fifth and X Games legend Alex Hall in seventh.
