Andreas Hatveit wins X Games gold on the final run of the day. He beat out Jossi Wells, who led for the better part of the finals, while Jon Olsson took 3rd to round out the podium.
Unlike the other three days at the X Games, Sunday proved to be quite the downer with weather. Sunny skies turned grey, and a rain/slush/snow combo started to fall during the finals. The inclement weather made for tricky speeds into the features, which in turn created some surprises and upsets in the qualifiers. While newcomer Euros Anders Backe and Thomas Dolplads turned heads and made finals, favorites like Sammy Carlson and PK Hunder couldn’t quite lay down a run and failed to advance.
Finals saw some incredible jumping and some big surprises. Youngster Jossi Wells, who dropped 3rd in finals scored a solid 90 in his first run, which he claims was his safety run. But it was Andreas, on his last run — and the last run of finals — who stole the show, scoring a 94 after stomping his massive switch 1260 on the bottom hit. And we can’t forget about Jon Olsson who skied solidly, dropping the Kangaroo Flip on us at the end to snatch up the last podium spot.
The final day of X saw some incredible riding, and one of the best competitions for gold we’ve seen in a while. And despite the weather turning, all the skiers skied well and wowed the crowd in classic X Games fashion. Thanks for coming to support all the riders at X and we’ll see you next year.
1) Andreas Hatveit
2) Jossi Wells
3) Jon Olsson
4) Colby West
5) Charles Gagnier
6) JF Houle
7) Anders Backe
8) Tanner Rainville
9) Thomas Dolplads
10) Peter Olenick
Tekst:freeskier.com