Porteous goes from X Games Rookie to Silver Medallist
Miguel Porteous goes from X Games Rookie to Silver Medallist
Aspen, USA (27 January 2017) –
17-year old freeskier Miguel Porteous (Christchurch) has
gone from X Games rookie to silver medallist in one night,
taking out second place in men’s superpipe in Aspen.
As
the sport’s big names came crashing down one after the
after, the young Kiwi – who was initially only invited to
the competition as an alternate and gained his spot a few
days ago when the USA’s Kyle Smaine was sidelined by
injury – not only put a run to his feet but landed on the
podium.
“I just can’t really fathom it right now,”
he said moments after the competition. “It’s
unbelievable!
“I was excited to get a chance to compete
but was really sad to hear about Kyle’s injury and I wish
him all the best. My goal was just to put a run down in the
X Games environment which is unlike anything I’ve
experienced before.”
Following three days of training
in snowy conditions the pipe had turned icy and the field of
eleven competitors struggled to land their tricks. After the
first of two runs only one competitor, Canada’s Noah
Bowman, had been able to land a full run. His first run
score of 71 points would eventually see him finish in the
bronze medal spot.
Miguel Porteous crashed on one of his
first hits on run one. “I wasn’t really in the right
head space to start with,” he explains. “I was still
feeling a little bit of disbelief about being there and it
was cold. After the first run I got back to the top of the
pipe and just tried to relax. I dance around a bit and
listened to a song I like before I dropped in.”
The
strategy worked and Miguel executed a technical run,
spinning both ways down the pipe incorporating three double
flips. His personal highlight was the left double 1260 on
the second to last hit.
“It’s a trick I’ve had a
bit of difficulty with but I’ve been working hard on it at
a recent Snow Sports NZ training camp in Calgary.”
The
X Games men’s superpipe gold medal went to USA’s Aaron
Blunck.
Results here: http://xgames.espn.com/xgames/events/2017/aspen/results/
Ends