It was another successful day on the slopes of Aspen, Colorado for Canadian freestyle skiers as the XGames came to a close for 2020. Brendan Mackay, 22, is taking home a bronze medal earned in the men’s Superpipe event. The Calgary, Alberta native joined American athletes Alex Ferreira (gold) and Aaron Blunck (silver) on the podium. Trennon Paynter, the Head coach of the program commented: “I am really excited for Brendan as this is a big break through for him and certainly a validation of the changes he made in his training intensity this off season.” Brendan was also clear on his path to the podium today. “The cumulative four run format used at the XGames this year certainly favored the consistent skiers, you had to have the top end run but also needed to be consistent through all four runs.” He continued by echoing his coach’s comments: “Certainly the shift in training I was able to make this year, I think, contributed to my consistency. It was the difference maker.”
Fellow Canadian athlete Noah Bowman took 8th in the Superpipe event.
In the final of the Women’s Slopestyle event, 19 year old Megan Oldham of Perry Sound, Ontario competing in her first XGames, finished a strong 6th place. “I was super excited at how I was able to ski today, it was an awesome event! I was able to push a bit and tried a 1200 on the last run. I missed the grab and wasn’t able to quite get it around to finish but it was close.”
The team is headed to Park City, Utah today in preparation for the Mammoth Mountain Resort US Grand Prix, where competition takes place January 29-February. 1.
