Aspen, Colorado, January 24, 2019 – Canada’s Cassie Sharpe was crowned women’s half pipe champion at the X Games in Aspen, Thursday night, while her teammate from the Canadian national team Rachael Karker also ended up on the podium as she earned bronze in the same event.
Sharpe won the half pipe event held on the first day of the 2019 X Games in Aspen thanks to a third run that earned her 94.00 points. She was then able to move ahead of Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru, whose best run out of three earned her 92.33 points. Karker, who was competing at X Games for the first time, captured bronze with a total of 86.33 points.
Sharpe therefore won her third career medal at the X Games, her second in Aspen. The reigning Olympic champion in half pipe collected bronze a year ago in Colorado, as well as gold at the 2016 X Games in Oslo.
“I wanted it, I needed it, and I went out and got it,” said Sharpe after the event, alluding to the fact that she won her first-ever gold in Aspen. “This is the big show, this is it, this is Aspen extreme, so I’m just so hyped about this.”
Sharpe was second in provisional standings, after a first run worth 88.66 points. The 26-year-old athlete from Comox, BC, was able to move into first place with her third run, when she came up with a solid 1080, with more amplitude, in doing her final trick. She attempted the same trick in her second run, but fell upon landing.
“That 1080 gave me problems all week in training, but I knew I needed to hit it perfectly. I knew that to beat Kelly, I had to do it and it had to be flawless,” added Sharpe.
Karker, for her part, won her third major medal of the season. The 21-year-old athlete from Erin, ON, won the Dew Tour half pipe event in Breckenridge, Colorado, on December 14, and also earned a silver medal at the FIS World Cup held in Secret Garden, China, on December 20.
“I am really happy about how my first X Games went. I can’t believe that I was able to put it all together and end up on the podium. I am so happy for Cassie, she really deserved that gold and I am thrilled to be standing on the podium with her”, said Karker,
In the men’s half pipe event, also held Thursday evening, Noah Bowman was sixth while Simon d’Artois finished in seventh place.
Up next in freestyle skiing at the X Games are the women’s slopestyle event, Friday afternoon, and the women’s Big Air event, Friday evening.
CANADA’S RESULTS IN THURSDAYS’S HALF PIPE EVENT AT THE X GAMES :
Women : Cassie Sharpe, Comox, BC (1), Rachael Karker, Erin, ON (3).
Men : Noah Bowman, Calgary, AB (6), Simon d’Artois, Whistler, BC (7)
