Aspen, CO – Winter X Games kicked off its 2011 events Thursday, crowning Canada’s Kaya Turski a repeat gold medalist in women’s slopestyle skiing in Aspen.n”I feel elated right now,” Turski, of Montreal, Quebec, said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself. The level of competition here is so high, all the girls killed it. I luckily had a good first run, a great cab 7 and nailed the cannon. That really eased the pressure.”
Turski’s performance not only duplicated her feat at the 2010 Winter X Games, but also marked the 22-year-old’s comeback from a mishap at 2010 X Games Europe, where she earned the highest slopestyle score in X Games history, man or woman, and thus won the event despite severing her ACL on her final jump. She underwent surgery to repair the torn knee ligament last April but nonetheless finished atop the Association of Freeskiing Professionals season-end slopestyle rankings for the second consecutive season last winter.
Turski was followed in second by Keri Herman, of Breckenridge, Colo., and Salt Lake City resident Grete Eliassen in third — the same podium results that were posted last winter. Birthday girl Ashley Battersby of Park City, Utah, finished just off the podium in fourth also for the second X Games in a row.
“The girls were throwing it down – the most tight tricks I’ve ever seen,” Herman said. “It’s so good that the level’s up so high, it’s really motivating, I really had to step up my game. It was just incredible today.”
Eliassen, who’s been busy promoting her new ski film, “Say My Name,” took home her second consecutive bronze medal.
“It’s awesome to win again,” Eliassen said. “I spent most of my season focusing on ‘Say My Name,’ so it is cool to come back and progress after that.”
The U.S. World Championship Team for slopestyle skiing will be named on Monday, three days before the competition goes down at Park City Mountain Resort in Utah on Feb. 3.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2011 Winter X Games
Aspen, CO – Jan. 27, 2011
Women’s Slopestyle Skiing
1. Kaya Turski, Montreal, QC, Canada, 93.66
2. Keri Herman, Breckenridge, CO, 93.33
3. Grete Eliassenn, Salt Lake City, 93.00