Day One | X Games Aspen 2024

Monster Energy Sweeps Ski Big Air Podium on Day 1 of X Games Aspen 2024

Unstoppable! X Games Aspen 2024 started with a full podium sweep in the heated Pacifico Men’s Ski Big Air final. Headline victories also included 17-year-old Mia Brookes from the UK taking gold in Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle and Chloe Kim claiming her seventh gold in Monster Energy Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe while also pulling the first-ever Cab 1260 landed by a woman.

Definitely a huge first day at X Games Aspen 2024! 

When all was said and done, Monster Energy riders claimed a total of eight medals (3 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze) across five contest events in the 23rd edition of Winter X Games at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen Snowmass, Colorado.

Here’s how it all went down for the team at X Games Aspen 2024 on Friday:

WOMEN’S SNOWBOARD SLOPESTYLE: MIA BROOKES SHUTS DOWN COMPETITION FOR FIRST X GAMES GOLD

WHO’S THE YOUNG GUN NOW? At age 17, Mia Brookes from Sandbach, United Kingdom, came into Slopestyle as the youngest rider. But then she single-handedly shut down the competition by posting the three highest scores of the entire contest (95.00, 97.66, and 96.00 points). Let’s say the first-career X Games gold was well-deserved!

Brookes scored highest on her second run, hitting the rail section with frontside boardslide pretzel, half-Cab to 50-50 backside 360 out, 50-50 to lipslide pretzel, and backside lipslide 270 out. In the jumps, she boosted a frontside 360 frontside nosebone on the shark fin, backside 900 Indy, and Cab 1260 stalefish for 97.66 points.

Far from finished, on Run 3 she hit the final booter jump with a Caballerial 1440, the first ever landed by a woman at X Games. 

“I’ve been dreaming about this for so long. I honestly… I can’t believe it,” said an emotional Mia Brookes upon winning Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle at X Games Aspen 2024. 

Brookes now owns 1 X Games medal (gold) and is also the reigning FIS Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle World Champion. She will also compete in Knuckle Huck, Big Air, and Street this weekend.

MURASE CLAIMS SILVER: Brookes faced the fiercest competition from 19-year-old Kokomo Murase from Gifu, Japan. At the end of a heated battle, she came in second. 

On Run 2, Murase landed 50-50 transfer to boardslide on wallride, frontside boardslide 450 out, switch boardslide to forward, and frontside lipslide pretzel in the rails. In the jump section, she posted a stylish switch backside 180 Japan, frontside double cork 900 truck grab, and Cab 1260 double cork Weddle grab the final jump for 94.33 points and the silver medal.

Murase now owns seven X Games medals (1 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze). She’s also competing in Saturday’s Women’s Snowboard Big Air, stay tuned!

MONSTER ENERGY WOMEN’S SNOWBOARD SUPERPIPE: CHLOE KIM BACK TO GOLD STATUS, DROPS NBD TRICK

GUESS WHO’S BACK? The Queen of the SuperPipe, Chloe Kim had last competed at X Games Aspen 2021 before taking the gold medal performance at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Now the world wanted to know whether the 23-year-old from Los Angeles could get back to winning and claim her seventh X Games gold?

Proving her dominance, the two-time Olympic gold medalist clinched the victory on Run 1, flying higher above the SuperPipe than the rest of the field and nailing a perfect run. A huge method air measuring 14 feet, 4 inches, frontside 1080 tailgrab, Cab 900 stalefish, switch method, and Cab 1080 stalefish earned Kim 96.33 points as the highest score of the night.

On Run 3, Kim made X Games history by finishing her run with a Caballerial 1260, a trick never landed by a woman in competition before. It was a historic night in Aspen!

“I’m speechless. I’m really excited to be back! Thank you, Aspen, for having me. I’m really happy I was able to put a run down today and land my Cab twelve. I really wanted to do it. And I did it today, yeah!” said Kim.

Speaking on her never-been-done trick, Kim added: “I’ve really wanted to do that trick for a long time,” she said in her gold medal interview. “I attempted it in Beijing, and I just really wanted to give it a shot. I wish it was a little cleaner, but I’m really stoked I was able to put it down.”

Kim now owns nine X Games medals (7 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) from nine competition starts in SuperPipe. She is now tied with Kelly Clark for most gold in the discipline.

THAYER MEN’S SNOWBOARD KNUCKLE HUCK: DARCY SHARPE BUTTERS THE KNUCKLE FOR BRONZE MEDAL

CREATIVE AND STYLISH: Anything can happen in the creative Thayer Men’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck, with snowboarders ‘hucking’ their most creative tricks over the Big Air ramp’s roll-over, also called the ‘knuckle’. In the 20-minute jam session, Darcy Sharpe from Calgary, Canada, stood out with his creativity, explosive pop, and tons of style.

The Canadian’s highlights included switch barrel roll hand drag with both hands dragging, across the knuckle, huge backside 360, hand drag stretch layout 720, and Cab double hand drag 540 for the bronze medal in a heated session.

Sharpe now owns five X Games medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze).

PACIFICO MEN’S SKI BIG AIR: TROY PODMILSAK EARNS SURPRISE GOLD ON LAST TRICK IN PODIUM SWEEP FOR TEAM MONSTER ENERGY

STYLE MATTERS: For X Games Aspen 2024, official rules changed to put an emphasis on stylish execution in the Big Air event. For that reason, every rider started their contest by dropping a Style Trick for a maximum of 10 points attributed to their maximal 100-point score. The remaining 90 points were earned via two ‘regular’ trick attempts, each worth a maximum 45 points. Turns out, Monster Energy riders had the style and tech tricks to sweep all three medals off the podium!

DOWN TO THE WIRE: With Alex Hall dominating the top spot, 19-year-old Monster Army rider Troy Podmilsak from Park City, Utah, found himself outside of podium contention until the last run. Earlier, he put down a massive rightside double cork 1080 blunt for 7 points as his Style Trick. But after a miss, he landed a switch right double cork bio 1980 safety grab for 36 points on Run 4 but had to put it all on the line on his final run.

In a moment of X Games history (and destiny), Podmilsak jumped from the bottom all the way up on Run 5: Risking it all, the upstart landed a forward right triple cork 2160 mute, a trick never landed at X Games for 43 points for an overall score of 86 points and the gold medal. And the stoke knew no limits!

“I just want to win, that’s all it came down to! It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done, but I’m doing it for the win,” said Podmilsak. “I don't even know what's going on right now. I told my agent last year I was going to win, so I'm glad I kept my promise and won today!”

Podmilsak now owns one X Games medal. He also won the 2023 FIS World Championships with a triple 2160.

HALL IN CLOSE SECOND PLACE: Park City’s Alex Hall could literally feel the gold medal around his neck with a 15-point lead over the rest of his opponents until the final runs came around. The 25-year-old Olympic gold medalist started out dominating with a switch zero spin safety grab for 9 points, the highest Style Trick score of the contest.

Continuing his lead, Hall finessed a never-been-done switch right double cork 1260 pullback to 1080 safety grab for 37 points. He then upped the ante with a switch left tail-butter double cork 1800 lead Japan grab for 39 points. Ultimately, A-Hall earned a total score of 85 points for second place, a single point behind Podmilsak.

Hall now owns 10 X Games medals (5 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze). He will be competing in Men’s Freeski Slopestyle, stay tuned!

BACHER’S BRONZE ROUND OUT PODIUM SWEEP: One more! The epic Big Air final saw 19-year-old Daniel Bacher from Austria taking the bronze medal. Bacher dropped a switch 720 tweak Japan grab for 8 points as his Style Trick.

After crashing into the snow fence on a missed attempt, Bacher regained his composure to storm the podium: On Run 4, the Austrian tail-tapped the take-off lip into a leftside double cork 1080 safety grab for 24 points and secured third place on his final attempt by posting a switch leftside tail butter double cork 1440 safety grab for 38 points and 70.00 points total.

Friday night’s bronze medal at X Games Aspen 2024 is Bacher’s first X Games medal.

MONSTER ENERGY MEN’S SNOWBOARD SUPERPIPE: KAISHU HIRANO TAKES BRONZE, POSTS HIGHEST AIR OF THE NIGHT

ENDING THE NIGHT ON A HIGH NOTE: A big night in Aspen ended with an epic clash of halfpipe titans in Monster Energy Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe. Stepping into the spotlight, 21-year-old Kaishu Hirano from Murakami, Japan, earned the bronze medal in the highly contested final. He also stoked the crowd by soaring high into the Aspen sky with the highest air of the night, a bionic method clocking in at 22 feet, 10 inches above the deck of the halfpipe. Someone call Air Control!

In his highest-scoring Run 2, Hirano put together a high-flying McTwist melon, frontside double cork 1440 frontside grab, Cab 1080 mute, frontside 1260 frontside grab, backside 1260 mute on the final wall for 86.33 points and the bronze medal

Hirano now owns 2 X Games medals (2 bronze).

Again, congrats to the entire team on an epic first day at X Games Aspen 2024 with eight medals and a podium sweep. Way to go!

Stay tuned for more X Games Aspen 2024 – two more entire days to go. Don’t miss the action and tune in on ABC, ESPN, YouTube, and Twitch. Here’s to more never-been-done tricks and epic showdowns on Buttermilk Mountain!