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Winter X Games 12: Snowboard Slopestyle Womens Final
Jamie Anderson Tops X Games Slope Podium
Seems like in with the new is the theme for this year in Snowboarding Slopestyle at the 2008 Winter X Games. Well, you can hardly call Jamie Anderson “new” since she won last year but at the ripe age of what 17 or 18, she is still kind of new. X Games rookies Claudia Flirli and Spencer O’Brien rounded off the podium. In addition to new riders the slopestyle course was also new, moved from the location it had been at for the past several years. With really only one rail feature, a gateway type box as the first obstacle, the course was really jump oriented or spin to win. There was a thing called the Cannon that was a little box jump thing, other than that – all airs. Noticeably absent were Tara Dakides, Hana Beaman and Janna Mayen; all were present in practice but did not make it to the finals. Tara cased a jump earlier and ended her 2008 X Games appearance.
Speaking of casing jumps, the course really technical in the sense that the obstacles came at the riders fast so there was not much time to think and no time for errors. Some fresh snow in practice caused the course to be slow and hence, the casings like previously mentioned about Tara. Come finals day, it was sunny, but cool, pretty much perfect weather for the Show.
Party Pelosi blew both her runs. Erin Comstock did not do much better. Alexis Waite had a perfect 1st run until the big money booter (last jump) and scrubbed a jump on her second run. Megan Ginter got 6th place with her first run even though she scrubbed a seven on the big booter. Marie France Roy did a cab 5 and front 7 on her first run and did a front 9 in her second run to get 5th. Jenny Jones learned to ride on the dry slopes of England which made her proficient enough to keep it spinning the whole run and get fourth. Spencer O’Brien rookied her way into 3rd. See what Claudia Flirli said about her runs below. Jamie Anderson had a near perfect first run but scrubbed the big money booter. She killed her second run and took it all, with 5’s and sevens.
The action seemed a tad held back due to the technicality of the course but that is the nature of snowboarding. It almost seemed like withholding a bit won it for the ladies (and men) as the course did not allow for an all out attack. Either way the 2008 X Games slopestyle is in the books.
A few moments with Silver Medalist Claudia Flirli
SR: So this is your first X Games right?
CF: Yes
SR: How do you feel on getting Silver?
CF: Ah pretty good. I am totally stoked, I didn’t expect it all. When I came here the course was really hard to do in the beginning but we had a lot of training so I got used to it.
SR: Slow?
CF: No, the jumps are really big (laughs) and the jumps are really tight together so you have to react really fast, could not have better (laughs)
SR: From the silver medalists mouth what was your best run?
CF: Yea, for sure the second run I got one more point. Frontside tail, Cab 5, Cab 5 tail, bside 3, front 5, switch front 5 on the last jump. I should have finished with a switch frontside 7 but whatever
Results
1 Jamie Anderson
2 Claudia Flirli
3 Spencer O’Brien
4 Jenny Jones
5 Marie-France Roy
6 Megan Ginter
7 Alexis Waite
8 Cheryl Maas
9 Erin Comstock
10 Leanne Pelosi
- Leanne Pelosi
- Jenny Jones
- Cheryl Maas
- Alexis Waite
 - Jenny Jones
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