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New Zealand teenager Nico Porteous won gold in the freeski superpipe at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado.
Nico Porteous
Photo: ESPN Images
Porteous made history when he became the first freeskier to land both his 1620 right double and the combination of a 1620 right double on a 1620 left double in a halfpipe competition.
“That race has been in the works for the last year and a half, I dreamed of that race and I have worked very hard on it,” Porteous said.
“To be able to land and win the gold medal is pretty incredible.
“It’s been a lifelong dream for me, so it’s pretty surreal right now and pretty out of this world. I was very focused and knew what to do and didn’t let anything get in my way.”
Porteous was joined on the podium by Aaron Blunck with the silver medal and Birk Irving with the bronze medal, both from the United States.
Porteous coach Tommy Pyatt said there were two main factors that led to the successful run.
“The fact that Nico nearly hit the full winning streak numerous times in practice over the past two weeks, and that without the crowd [due to Covid-19] Nico felt there was less pressure on him, allowing him to ski at his best. “
Previously, fellow New Zealander Zoi Sadowski-Synnott continued her stellar season, grabbing snowboard slopestyle silver.
It is the fourth X Games medal in the 19-year-old’s career, and it comes just three weeks after she won Big Air gold at the World Cup event in Kreischberg, Austria.
A bronze medalist at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Sadowski-Synnott said the result was nice, especially since he hadn’t been at his best in practice.
“In the first two races I was struggling with speed and I didn’t put everything together. In the third race I retired it to get a race and then I put it all together in the last race.”
Jamie Anderson of the USA took the gold medal with his effortless style and solid landings, and Canadian Laurie Blouin completed the podium with the bronze medal.
“At the X Games there is definitely the feeling that this is the biggest competition of the season and this is where you want to do your best,” said Sadowski-Synnott.
“After coming in just behind Jamie at LAAX, I was giving everything I had to get to the top. I’m still excited about second place though.”
Sadowski-Synnott has also been invited to compete in the X Games Snowboard Big Air event scheduled for Sunday morning (NZT).
“I feel good about big air, the jump is nice, after today there will be some athletes who got lost [on the podium] who will look for it tomorrow. It will be a really good show. “
