A Dream Come True
McMorris Takes the Top Spot in Snowboard Big Air
Mark McMorris overcame a perfect run by Torstein Horgmo to capture his first Winter X Games gold medal in Snowboard Big Air to close out Friday night at Winter X Games Aspen 2012.
“X Games is something that I have watched since I was super young and all of my idols have been here,” an energetic and excited McMorris said. “To end up on top of the podium in the biggest event in snowboarding is such a good feeling. All the support has been insane.”
Both McMorris and last year’s gold medalist Horgmo pulled off the vaunted Triple Cork, with Horgmo scoring a perfect 50. But McMorris’ collection of work put him on top of the medal stand.
“It was amazing,” silver medalist Horgmo said. “I am so stoked for Mark. It seemed like we kept pushing each other. It was just a good session out there.“
The man known affectionately known as “Seb Toots,” Sebastien Toutant took home the bronze to go along with his silver from last year’s event.
The Big Air course is approximately 300 feet and made up of a single 80-foot step-up jump. The competition featured snowboarders who each attempted a single trick off the feature in a jam session format. Snowboard Big Air is judged on aggressive execution of maneuvers, degree of difficulty, variety of tricks, originality and style.
For Winter X Games media information, including press releases, logos and additional images from past events, log on to www.espneventmedia.com. To view medalist runs, visit the Winter X Games You Tube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/xgames and follow the X Games on Twitter at Twitter.com/xgames
WINTER X GAMES ASPEN 2012
Winter X Games Aspen 2012 returns to Aspen/Snowmass, Colo., January 26-29, 2012, with live coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. This year marks the 11th consecutive year the event is being held in Aspen and features more than 200 of the world’s best athletes in the sports of Skiing, Snowboarding and Snowmobile. In addition to 16 hours of live programing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, more than nine hours of Winter X Games Aspen content will be offered on ESPN3 and 25 hours on ESPN 3D.
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Contacts: Danny Chi, ESPN, 310-642-1509, danny.c.chi@espn.com
Katie Moses-Swope, ESPN, 303-290-7888, katie.moses-swope@espn.com
Alex Rozis, ESPN, 310-642-1533, alex.a.rozis@espn.com
Grace Coryell, ESPN, 310-642-1519, grace.s.coryell@espn.com