Monster Energy congratulates its freeski and snowboard athletes
on a dominant performance at X Games Aspen 2023.
ASPEN,
Colo., Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- X
Games Aspen 2023 is in the books! Monster Energy congratulates its
freeski and snowboard athletes on a dominant performance at X Games
Aspen 2023. During the three-day event, the world-class team
claimed a total of 18 X Games medals (seven gold, three silver, and
eight bronze) and wrote action sports history with unprecedented
performances. Visit monsterenergy.com for exclusive content and
highlights.
Presented by Monster Energy as the long-time energy drink
partner, X Games Aspen 2023 brought the world's elite of action
sports to Buttermilk Mountain in the heart of the Rocky Mountains
for the 22nd consecutive year. The event featured 84 action sports
athletes from 19 countries competing for a total of 42 medals
across 14 disciplines: Men's and Women's Ski and Snowboard
competitions in the disciplines of Slopestyle, Big Air, SuperPipe,
and the innovative Knuckle Huck, alongside Special Olympics Unified
competitions.
X Games 2023 brought back on-site festival crowds as a
free-to-attend spectacle on Buttermilk Mountain. The schedule
included musical performances from Kaskade, Yung Gravy, Night
Tales, MOD SUN, MADDS, and girlfriends. All weekend, X Fest Snow
showcased live DJ sets, concession stations, three interactive
parks, photo opportunities, giveaways, and the new X Games Walk of
Fame.
Over the course of three action-packed days, 13.5 hours of
competitions from X Games Aspen 2023 were broadcast live on ESPN
and ABC. And for the first time this year, all medal competitions
streamed live for free on the official X Games YouTube and Twitch
channels.
Here's how the team Monster Energy stoked fans at X Games Aspen
2023:
The Monster Energy team's medal run started in the Jeep Women's
Snowboard Slopestyle final with all eyes on defending gold medalist
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott from Wanaka,
New Zealand. Facing heavy
competition and adverse weather conditions, the 21-year-old had
difficulty putting a winning run together. Until she landed a
perfect run on her last attempt for a walk-off victory! Monster
Energy athletes swept the entire podium, with 22-year-old
Tess Coady taking silver as the
first Australian woman to earn a Women's Snowboard Slopestyle medal
and 18-year-old Kokomo Murase from
Gifu, Japan, taking home
bronze.
The medals continued when the Special Olympics Unified Skiing
racing event returned for the third time at X Games. Monster
Energy's Hanna Faulhaber joined
forces with 33-year-old Special Olympics athlete Haldan Pranger to win the gold medal with the
fastest combined time. Also rising to the podium, two-time Olympic
gold medalist David Wise from
Reno, Nevada, rode alongside
Tanner Jadwin, from Glenwood Springs, Colorado, for their second
consecutive bronze in the discipline.
The kind of history-making moment only witnessed at X Games
unfolded in the first event: The Women's Ski Big Air final saw
Megan Oldham from Newmarket, Canada, go down in history by
landing the first triple cork – a perfect leftside triple cork 1440
mute – ever performed in a women's ski or snowboard contest. The
historic move earned the 21-year-old a perfect score of 50 points
and a gold medal.
The crowd went into full party mode for the innovative Ski
Knuckle Huck contest. The 30-minute jam session revolved around
riders 'hucking' their most advanced freestyle moves off the Big
Air ramp's roll-over. And huck it – they did: The elite field,
including Olympic gold medalist Alex
Hall and freeski icon Henrik Harlaut pushed the boundaries
of freeski progression. When the dust settled, Colby Stevenson claimed the bronze medal to
boost his overall record to three medals after winning Knuckle Huck
in his rookie debut at X Games Aspen 2020. And he was far from
finished…
Stevenson ushered in the second day of X Games Aspen 2023 by
rising all the way to the top in the Men's Ski Slopestyle final.
Facing heavy snowfall and poor visibility, the Team USA athlete showed grit and strategy by
landing two perfect runs for an early lead that netted him the
second gold medal in the discipline. Stevenson now owns four X
Games medals (three gold and one bronze). Also taking a podium
spot, 24-year-old Ferdinand Dahl
from Oppegaard, Norway, landed two
flawless runs and spun in all four directions on jumps and rails
for the bronze medal.
The youngest rider at X Games 2023 stole the spotlight and took
gold in Monster Energy Women's Snowboard SuperPipe: 14-year-old
Gaon Choi from Seoul, South Korea,
dominated the Superpipe like a veteran (she also trains with
snowboard icon Chloe Kim). Highly
advanced tricks like switch 900 and regular 900s both ways earned
Choi gold and a spot in the history books. Choi is the youngest
Women's Snowboard Superpipe gold medalist at age 14 years, two
months, and also the first athlete from South Korea to claim gold at an X Games event.
The future has landed!
A big night at X Games Aspen 2023 started with the Monster
Energy Women's Ski SuperPipe final. In a session overshadowed by
relentless snowfall, 20-year-old Svea
Irving from Winter Park,
Colorado, caused an upset by clinching the bronze medal on
her final run. Raised in the Monster Army athlete support program,
Irving strung together highlights such as alley-oop flatspin 540
Japan, left 900 safety, and left alley-oop 360 safety for third
place.
The high-energy crowd was in for a unique aerial show in the
Pacifico Women's Snowboard Big Air final. In a highly contested
session, defending Big Air gold medalist, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott unveiled a never-been-done
trick for the history books: a perfect switch backside 1260.
Further expanding her score by landing a fast-spinning backside
1260 melon grab, Sadowski-Synnott ended her night only a single
point behind the top spot. She walked away with a strong silver
medal as her ninth X Games medal (five gold, three silver, and one
bronze).
Saving the biggest show for last, the Pacifico Men's Snowboard
Big Air final saw the long-overdue X Games debut of 18-year-old
Chinese rookie Su Yiming from
Jilin City. Initially slated to
compete at Aspen 2022, Yiming was
sidelined by Covid-19 lockdown but made up for lost time by sending
two next-level tricks over the gap on Saturday night: a frontside
1800 and quad cork 1980. When all was said and done, Yiming claimed
the bronze medal, adding the hardware to his Big Air gold from the
2022 Beijing Winter Games.
On Sunday, the last day of X Games Aspen 2023 kicked off with
another gold medal performance for Team Monster Energy: In the Jeep
Women's Ski Slopestyle final under bluebird skies, Canada's Megan
Oldham claimed her second gold medal at X Games Aspen 2023
by soaring above the competition. Hitting the course with
impeccable rail game and double cork rotations in the jumps, the
winner of Friday's Big Air gold became the second woman skier in
history to win two gold medals at the same X Games and now owns
seven X Games medals.
Snowboard trick innovation was the name of the game in the
Chipotle Snowboard Knuckle Huck contest, and 32-year-old style icon
Halldor Helgason from Iceland proved his timeless style by claiming
the silver medal in an eclectic field. Joining the legend on the
podium was a young gun: 19-year-old Dusty
Henricksen from Mammoth Lakes,
California, buttered and backflipped off the knuckle with
the best of them to claim bronze as his fourth X Games medal (two
gold and two bronze).
The nighttime action came to a full boil in the Men's Ski Big
Air showcasing boundary-pushing tricks celebrated by the festival
crowd on Buttermilk Mountain. Dropping into the session as the
reigning Olympic gold medalist in the discipline, 22-year-old Birk
Ruud from Oslo, Norway, unveiled a
brand-new switch triple 2160 on his last attempt. But the fact that
Ruud 'only' netted the bronze medal after this history-making
performance is a testament to the highest level of competition ever
seen in a Big Air final at the X Games. Watch the replay!
As the last event of X Games Aspen 2023, the Monster Energy
Men's Ski SuperPipe final marked the return of a freeski icon:
Two-time Olympic gold medalist David
Wise from Reno, Nevada, may
have entered the contest as the oldest competitor. But he showed
the young bucks how to string together a perfect run replete with
double cork aerials spun in all four directions and back-to-back
1260s to take home the gold medal. And like that, the 32-year-old
claimed his fifth X Games gold in SuperPipe and boosted his overall
count to eight X Games medals (five gold, two silver, and one
bronze). Only at X Games!
Download X Games Aspen 2023 High-Resolution Photos here.
And that's a wrap! Thanks to all athletes, everyone who
attended, and all who watched X Games Aspen 2023. Also, thanks to
the crew at ESPN and Buttermilk Mountain for putting on a
world-class action sports showcase.
Missed the action from X Games Aspen 2023? No worries! For the
first time this year, all events streamed live and can be rewatched
for free on the official X Games YouTube channel and Twitch.
Visit http://www.monsterenergy.com for exclusive content from X
Games Aspen 2023, including photos, videos, and contest results.
Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
TikTok for exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at Buttermilk
Mountain.
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About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California,
Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and
alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional,
Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross,
off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or
the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that
believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes,
and musicians represent. More than a drink, it's the way of life
lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans. See more
about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at
http://www.monsterenergy.com.
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SOURCE Monster Energy