The X-Games are the most important competitions of the season for freestylers. This year they will take place from the 23rd to the 25th. January in Aspen. Freestyle snowboarders and skiers compete at Buttermilk Mountain in Colorado.
It is the event for all freestyle athletes. For some participants, the X-Games are even more important than the Olympic Games.
Knuckl Huck, Superpipe and Co.: These are the disciplines
There are five disciplines in total. The women’s and men’s knuckle huck competitions open the X-Games.
Knuckle Huck only became famous through the games. Unlike Big Air, freestyle skiers and snowboarders use a terrain wave to show off their jumps and tricks.
In Big Air, athletes ride over a jump called a “kicker” and perform their tricks. In slopestyle, skiers and snowboarders have to complete a kind of obstacle course.
Other disciplines include Super Pipe and Street Style.
High-flyer Kim is there
The field of participants is top-class. Among those taking part is the two-time Olympic snowboard champion Chloe Kim. The 24-year-old from the USA won Olympic gold in the halfpipe in Pyeongchang and Beijing.
She also operates in a league of her own at the X Games. In 2015 she won her first title in the superpipe – at the age of 15. This makes her the youngest ever gold medalist at the X Games. In total, she has secured the title seven times.
Morgan nominated – newcomer Mohr replacement
From a German perspective, there are few athletes at the start. Annika Morgan from SC Miesbach is on the so-called “invitation list”. The 22-year-old from Garmisch Partenkirchen won silver in the knuckle huck at the X-Games last year.
Freestyle skier Muriel Mohr, on the other hand, is missing from this list but is among the replacements. The 18-year-old from Aschheim near Munich is causing a sensation this World Cup winter and came third at the Big Air in Chur and Klagenfurt.