Tonight, a dynasty ended. Sarah Burke, defending three-time gold medalist in Women's Superpipe here at X Games did not stand atop the podium tonight. It was Jen Hudak's turn to stand in the spotlight, as she has finally taken X Games gold. Following her was rookie X Games rider Megan Gunning who withstood the pressure of X to walk away with Silver. And Canadian Roz Groenewoud has turned in a bronze medal performance, under the lights here at X. Ms. Hudak, took her 900, alley oop 540, 540 and 720 to the judge's domes tonight, constantly widening her lead throughout her three runs. A solid three runs, and a solid performance is what Hudak needed to grab gold. Megan Gunning utilized her super stylish 900, 540 and 720 combos, coupled with her non-chalant style to make her X Games debut count, snagging silver. And Roz G, who dropped three clean runs, used a 900, right and left 540s, 360 and switch down the pipe 540s to keep that bronze medal dream alive.
Unfortunately tonight, Sarah Burke couldn't hold down a clean run, but showcased her back-to-back flares, monster 900 and 720s, once again proving she's a true pioneer of the sport. Mirjam Jaeger and Anais Caradeux both skied in solid form, dropping 540s and alley oop spins, keeping things solid, but not wild, to secure their final places. With the close of Women's Superpipe, the ladies of X are done and we can close the books on Winter X 14 for them. Congratulations are in order to all the female riders who competed.
[Note: The action photos are from the daytime practice as women only had 15 mins of practice before finals].
