The first of three days of unrivaled X Games competition wraps up in Aspen with strong results in the women's ski big air, men's ski knuckle huck and men's snowboard. 

For the women, history was made in the women's ski big air when Canadian skier Megan Oldham landed the first ever triple 14 mute in competition. With the crowd going wild, Oldham officially cemented her place in history as the first ever woman to land this trick in a contest. On the U.S. side, Grace Henderson was the lone American, but made noise when she successfully landed two tricks that she had never attempted in competition and ended up seventh overall. Henderson, who was left speechless after nailing the landing, said, "I am so stoked to be out here at X Games - this is my first one and I landed two tricks I've never done before and landed them both here under the lights with my parents and friends in the crowd... it's just amazing. I cannot believe I am here."

Next was the much-anticipated men's ski Knuckle Huck, an event judged on originality, difficulty, creativity, style and trajectory. Returning X Games champion and Olympic gold medalist Alex Hall was back in the start gate along with teammates Olympic medalist Colby Stevenson, Alex Hackel and Quinn Wolferman. In classic Knuckle Huck fashion, there was 19 minutes of chaos with all athletes getting in as many runs as possible. With the snow falling heavier by the second, each athlete threw tricks that not only made the crowd go wild but defied gravity in the process. At the end of the contest, Jesper Tjader from Norway won the night and the top U.S. spot went to Colby Stevenson who ended the contest on the podium in third.

To close out a busy day, the snowboard SuperPipe welcomed the best riders in the world to Aspen. Lucas Foster was the only U.S. man in the lineup, but proved to be a top contender when he threw down serious amplitude and technical tricks throughout his four laps through the pipe. With a weather delay due to heavy snow stopping competition for a brief time, the pipe may have been slow but the tricks were not. At the end of the night, Scotty James of Australia took his 5th X Games win. Foster ended the day in eighth.

Catch the action tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 28, LIVE on X Games YouTube and broadcast tape delay on ESPN/ABC. 

Schedule

Jan. 28, 2023

• Men's Ski Slopestyle
• Women's Snowboard SuperPipe
• Women's Ski SuperPipe
• Women's Snowboard Big Air
• Men's Snowboard Big Air

Jan. 29, 2023

• Women's Ski Slopestyle
• Men's Snowboard Slopestyle
• Snowboard Knuckle Huck
• Men's Big Air
• Men's Ski SuperPipe

Dr. J. Richard Steadman, famed orthopedic surgeon from the Vail Valley and founder and champion of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s medical program, passed away on Friday, Jan. 20 at age 85.

One of the most talented surgeons in sports medicine history, many U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team athletes throughout the years owe their careers to Steadman. He was an award-winning innovator in his field and became a legend for his pioneering approach that got world class athletes back on snow ready to perform at their best. 

“Dr. Steadman has been revolutionary in the sports of skiing and snowboarding, and has left a lasting impression on the sports and athletes he cared for throughout his career,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President & CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. “U.S. Ski & Snowboard has been partnered with the Steadman Clinic and the Steadman Philippon Research Institute for decades, which has allowed our athletes to maximize their careers and do what they love at the highest level.”

Steadman earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas in 1963 and went on to work in South Lake Tahoe, California as an orthopedic surgeon at Barton Memorial Hospital. When he volunteered his services at an Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Heavenly Valley in 1973, a long and successful relationship with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team began. 

Steadman pioneered significant improvements in post-surgical rehabilitation developing novel exercise protocols that shook the foundations of sports medicine. In 1974, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Olympic medalist alpine skier Cindy Nelson became the first elite skier to be treated by Dr. Steadman. Nelson would undergo 11 surgeries in her 14-year career, without ever missing a full season. Legions of U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team athletes coursed through Tahoe over the next decades before Nelson, working as Vail’s Director of Skiing, and former Vail Associates owner George Gillett persuaded Steadman to leave Lake Tahoe in 1990 with the promise of expanded research, treatment and training facilities in Vail.

Steadman treated well over 22,000 patients during the course of his 40-year career in Tahoe and Vail. In addition to members of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team, the list includes such legendary athletes as tennis greats Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles and Billie Jean King, NFL Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Bruce Smith, musicians Judy Collins and Rod Stewart and global soccer sensations Cristiano Ronaldo and Lothar Matthaeus. Steadman became a consultant to the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies while serving as U.S. Alpine Chief Physician at nine consecutive Olympic Winter Games from 1976 through 2006.

Steadman championed U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Sports Medicine program, chairing U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Medical Committee and working alongside the first medical director Melinda Roalstad, MS, PAC. Dr. Steadman was a constant source of support for the department providing consultation, mentorship and guidance at every turn. 

“Dr. Steadman affected every aspect of U.S. Ski & Snowboard throughout his career—from his world-renowned medical care to forging our medical program and chairing our medical committee, to helping formulate our foundational sports medicine policies and procedures,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Director of High Performance Gillian Bower. “His vision of athlete health and wellbeing will continue to have broad impact on both the athletes and our Sports Medicine Department. His generosity with his talents, time and passion for our sports will live on within our organization in perpetuity.”  

Steadman’s internationally renowned advanced surgical protocols and innovations include: Microfracture, a procedure that repairs the damaged joint and encourages the regrowth of articular cartilage; Healing Response, an arthroscopic alternative to full knee reconstruction; and The Package, a collection of arthroscopic procedures performed in a single operation, for which Steadman received a research award in 2012.

Today, the Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) in collaboration with the doctors of the Steadman Clinic, is known worldwide for its unprecedented clinical database and research into orthopedic injuries of the knee, hip, shoulder, ankle and spine.

Dr. Steadman’s pioneering spirit, surgical prowess, revolutionary advancements and uncommon devotion to treating the whole patient leaves a distinctive and lasting impact in the field of sports medicine, in the lives of everyday people and across many pro sports, particularly the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team.

Dusty Henricksen started off the FIS Snowboard World Cup season strong with a second-place finish on the slopestyle course at the Laax Open.

After being postponed for a day due to inclement weather, the snowboard slopestyle finals at the Laax Open finally went down, and what a show the riders put on!  

Dusty Henricksen came out strong with a smooth run that put him in fourth place. To get into a podium position, however, Henricksen knew he would need to improve on his first run, and he proceeded to do just that. Henricksen stomped a cab 1260 nose grab, frontside 1440 Japan, and backside triple cork 1440 weddle on his final run moving him into second place. 

When asked how it felt to land on the podium at the esteemed Laax Open, Henricksen exclaimed, “I’m so stoked! Super fun week riding with everyone and so glad we were able to run a final with the tough weather all week!”

But Henkricksen wasn’t the only one throwing down in Laax. His teammates Luke Winkelmann and Judd Henkes both landed clean runs to finish sixth and seventh, respectively. Norway’s Marcus Kleveland took home the win and Sweden’s Sven Thorgren rounded off the podium in third.

On the women’s side, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand won her first Laax Open. Coming in second and claiming her first World Cup podium was one of the newest additions to the World Cup circuit, 16-year-old Mia Brookes of Great Britain. Austria’s Anna Gasser claimed third and U.S. Snowboard Team athlete Hailey Langland finished eighth. 

Next up, Henricksen will join his teammates Red Gerard, Sean Fitzsimons, and Chris Corning at the X Games before the snowboard slopestyle team heads to the U.S. Toyota Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain on Feb. 1-4.
 

Results

Men

Women

Due to unfavorable weather in Switzerland, the finals snowboard halfpipe contest was canceled and the semi-final results stand. In qualifiers, Mastro qualified for the final for the women and Chase Josey, Chase Blackwell and Ryan Wachendorfer for the men - ultimately their qualifier results became their final results. 

With a solid run through the pipe two days prior, Mastro found herself back on the podium in the Laax Open, which is one of the biggest and most competitive contests of the World Cup circuit. 

For Mastro, this is her first World Cup of 2023 and her best result at the Laax Open, where last year she was ninth. Now, Mastro is slated to travel back to the States and compete at X Games in the SuperPipe contest at Aspen Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo.

For the men, Josey was ninth, Blackwell tenth, and Wachendorfer 12th, respectively, in the qualifiers, which landed them in the top 15 for finals with the cancelation. This is Wachendorfer's best finals result in the Laax Open. 

Now, the team will rest, travel back to the States and get ready for the last domestic World Cup, the 2023 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain

RESULTS

Men

Women

In just a week, Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo. will welcome back the best freeskiers and snowboarders for three days of competition. Snowboarders and skiers from around the world will compete in various contests with over 30,000 fans expected to tune in. X Games Aspen kicks off on Friday, January 27th and goes through Sunday, January 29th.

This year, 22 U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes were invited to compete in the big air, slopestyle, knuckle huck and halfpipe contests. 

Olympic gold medalist Alex Hall, who is the only skier to win the X Games in four different disciplines, slopestyle, big air, knuckle huck, and real ski, will return to chase his sixth X Games gold. In 2022, Hall threw a double cork 2160 to win and stunned everyone in the crowd, leaving even the announcers speechless.

"I'm excited to hopefully take a new approach to some of my tricks and have fun out there," said Hall. "Pushing my creativity will be the goal and the knuckle huck contest should be a great time, too!"

Alex Ferriera, a two-time X Games champion (2019 and 2020 superpipe) will also return to the pipe this year, along with several teammates who have been around the world competing in World Cups, most recently in Calgary, Canada and Laax, Switzerland. 

For the women, Maggie Voisin will make her 2022-23 contest debut. Voisin, a seven-time X Games medalist, will return to the main stage and compete in the slopestyle contest. Along with Voisin is local Aspen athlete Hanna Faulhaber who will return to her home mountain to compete at her "favorite event ever" - the X Games superpipe. Faulhaber was third in 2022 and is looking forward to "having the hometown crowd surrounding the pipe and cheering their loudest for me," she said. "Last year was such an amazing time and to walk away with a third place was a true dream come true. I can't wait to be back there in a week and do it all again and put on the best show for everyone." 

On the snowboard front, Colorado locals Red Gerard and Lucas Foster are slated to drop in. Gerard will compete in slopestyle and Foster in superpipe. Maddie Mastro, who won X Games bronze in 2018, has accepted her invitation and will compete in the superpipe competition. In the 2022-23 season, the snowboarders have been competing around the world, most recently in halfpipe and slopestyle contests in Laax, Switzerland. After X games, they will head to Mammoth Mountain, California for the 2023 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix. 

Athletes 

Snowboard

• Chris Corning
• Jake Canter
• Sean FitzSimons
• Lucas Foster
• Red Gerard
• Dusty Henricksen
• Julia Marino
• Maddie Mastro
• Zeb Powell

Freeski 

• Aaron Blunk
• Hanna Faulhaber
• Alex Ferreira
• Mac Forehand
• Alex Hackel
• Alex Hall
• Birk Irving
• Brita Sigourney
• Colby Stevenson
• Maggie Voisin
• David Wise
• Quinn Wolferman

Schedule 

For the most up-to-date schedule, click here.

Jan. 27, 2023

• Women's Snowboard Slopestyle
• Women's Ski Big Air
• Ski Knuckle Huck
• Men's Snowboard SuperPipe

Jan. 28, 2023

• Men's Ski Slopestyle
• Women's Snowboard SuperPipe
• Women's Ski SuperPipe
• Women's Snowboard Big Air
• Men's Snowboard Big Air

Jan. 29, 2023

• Women's Ski Slopestyle
• Men's Snowboard Slopestyle
• Snowboard Knuckle Huck
• Men's Big Air
• Men;s Ski SuperPipe