First British Medal at Freestyle World Championships as X Games Dates Clash
First British Medal at Freestyle World Championships as X Games Dates Clash
Published : 22-Jan-2015 11:56
There's a bit of a world class freestyle frenzy going on at present with the Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships in Kreischberg in Austria underway and the surviving (and original) X Games kicking off in Aspen today.
The fact that the two events clash, forcing some global superstars to choose whether to defend their World Championship crowns or go for (generally) the better money and media exposure that the X Games provide have led some to publically criticise the FIS for staging the Championships on the same dates as the X Games, suggesting it is a deliberate move by the 'old guard Alpine skiing' organisation.
The FIS argue they set their dates before the X Games, but American sports stars say the X Games have long been positioned in this date slot which is a crucial window in the American football season in terms of media exposure.
Most of the British team are in Austria and won their first medal yesterday, but James Woods is in Aspen for the X Games and starts his campaign for glory there today.
Yesterday Sheffield-born Slopestyle skier Katie Summerhayes took silver in the Ski Slopestyle completion at the Freestyle Ski and Snowboard Championships (pictured above with the British coach Jamie Matthew after her success).
In a historic day for British skiing, the 19 year old, a member of the GB Park and Pipe Team, held off strong competition to win the Silver medal, beaten into 2nd spot by Germany's Lisa Zimmerman.
Katie was in 2nd place going into the final run after a classy second run, which scored 81.40. She managed to better her standing with a score of 82.80 on the third run, but she could not beat the second run score of Zimmerman, who took the title with a 85.80.
"I'm really stoked, I stepped up each run the way I wanted to. It's taken a lot of hard work to get here and all the girls put on an awesome performance today, it was a great atmosphere out there!" said Katie.
"Today's result is all down to the dedication and hard work Katie has put in throughout the summer and in the build up to these Championships. On a fast, icy course she put in a great performance and I couldn't be happier with today's result," added Park and Pipe Team Coach Jamie Matthew.
Over in Aspen today, James 'Woodsy' Woods will tackle the Ski Slopestyle eliminations at the X Games. The action kicks off at 7pm UK time. If he makes it through the Ski Slopestyle finals take place on Saturday at 6pm UK time.
'Woodsy' is the UK's top ski contender in the competition and will be hoping to add to the bronze he won in the Men's Ski Slopestyle at the Winter X Games 2013.
The 23 year old, who also comes from Sheffield, grew up skiing on the former Sheffield Ski Village but managed to save up for a one way ticket to Colorado when he was 16, determined to earn a place amongst the best slopestyle skiers in the world.
The following year, he skied his way onto the Dew Tour, and in 2012, he was invited to Aspen as an X Games alternate. After narrowly missing out on a chance to compete, he finally made it to the X Games last year and stunned the field by qualifying No.1. In the final, he was the only skier to post two scores in the 90s and took bronze behind Nick Goepper and Henrik Harlaut.
James Woods was also the overall winner in the 2013 FIS rankings for the ski slopestyle and finished fifth in the ski slopestyle at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Back in Austria today sees James Machon riding in the Ski Halfpipe finals, which start at 17.00 UK time (live on British Eurosport 2) after qualifying in a fantastic 10th place yesterday.
Unfortunately Murray Buchan and Molly Summerhayes didn't make it through to the finals, with a 19th for Murray and 11th for Molly in her World Champs debut. Tomorrow sees Billy Morgan, Rowan Coultas and Sam Turnbull compete in the Men's Big Air Qualifiers, with finals taking place on Saturday.
In Ski Cross, Pam Thorburn, Liz Stevenson and Ed Drake are all in action in Kreischberg in the Ski Cross qualifiers on Saturday, with finals taking place on Sunday. The Big Air finals on Saturday and the Ski Cross finals on Sunday will both be shown on British Eurosport and on the red button on the BBC.
Finally, for the Delancey British Alpine Ski Team, it is a busy time for many of the athletes. Dave Ryding will tackle the Slalom course on Sunday at the Kitzbühel World Cup, looking to improve on his 25th place in Wengen last weekend. The action can be seen live on Eurosport, with the first run taking place at 9.15am UK time.
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