Ferreira Wins X Games Bronze in Hometown

ASPEN, CO (Jan. 25. 2015)—X Games officially wrapped up on Sunday afternoon with ski superpipe. Fittingly, after four days of non-stop action, the final competition of the 2015 X Games lived up to the billing. With it all said and done, Canada’s Simon d’Artois won the superpipe gold in dramatic fashion, Kevin Rolland of France took silver, and hometown hero Alex Ferreira (Aspen, CO) grabbed bronze.

On Friday evening, 16 skiers had three chances to make it to Sunday’s final. The stacked field was cut in half with Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, CO) sitting in the top spot after the elimination round.

The caliber of skiing displayed Sunday night was incredible. The Canadian halfpipe specialist stomped all three of his runs through the superpipe during Sunday’s final, but he needed his final attempt to solidify the gold medal.

A score of 93 for d’Artois edged Rolland’s 92.33 and Ferreira’s 91.66. While the Canadian gold medalist and French silver medalist were deserving of their podium spots, Ferreira put on a show in front of his hometown fans. The 20-year-old Aspenite won his second consecutive X Games superpipe bronze medal with a clutch performance.

“I don’t even know what to think right now; it was a crazy day,” said an elated Ferreira. “I didn’t land my first two runs and had to put it all out on the line for my third one and it ended up working out. I couldn’t be happier. All my friends and family are out here and I’m in front of my hometown.”

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tonight’s bronze medal is the second time in a row that Aspen’s Alex Ferreira stood on an X Games podium in front of his hometown fans.
• Ferreira was in last place going into his final attempt at the halfpipe. He nailed the run, catapulting himself from eighth to first. Subsequent skiers topped his third run’s score, giving Ferreira another bronze medal.
• Torin Yater-Wallace (Aspen, CO), another local hero, was forced to pull out of the competition after a gnarly, mid-week crash in a halfpipe training session.
• David Wise (Reno, NV) did not win a fourth consecutive X Games gold medal in superpipe, taking fourth in Sunday’s final.
• The biggest air of the superpipe final was the 21-foot double cork 1260 that Simon d’Artois stomped in his final run.

QUOTES
Alex Ferreira, X Games ski superpipe bronze medalist
I don’t even know what to think right now; it was a crazy day. I didn’t land my first two runs and had to put it all out on the line for my third one and it ended up working out. I couldn’t be happier. All my friends and family are out here and I’m in front of my hometown.

David Wise, three-time X Games ski superpipe champion/fourth place in 2015 superpipe final
This is going to be a good year for me. It’s really nice to do a couple of high-level events, enjoy skiing, and spend the rest of the time with my family. The difference between an Olympics year and an X Games year is that X Games is the biggest event of the season. This is the biggest contest of the year for us, which is why we throw it all on the line.  

RESULTS
Official results