Top 10 Athletes Announced for ESPN Winter X Games 14 Press Event
WHAT: The official press event prior to ESPN Winter X Games 14, which will focus on athletes competing in the Winter X Games and in the 2010 Winter Olympics. The event will be hosted by Aspen local and Olympian, Chris Klug. ESPN X Games executives Chris Stiepock, Rick Alessandri and Jack Wienert will be on hand for any interview requests.
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. MT
WHERE: Press Center at Buttermilk Mountain
WHO: Ten of the top Winter X Games athletes will be on hand to celebrate the start of Winter X Games 14. The athletes available for one-on-one interviews include
Xavier Bertoni (La Clusaz, France) – In one of the biggest surprises in Winter X Games history, Xavier Bertoni edged out Americans Tanner Hall and Simon Dumont to win Skiing SuperPipe gold at Winter X Games 13. Bertoni finished second place overall in the FIS World Cup standings in 2009. This season, he earned the top spot at the FIS World Cup stop in Les Contamines, France and took second place at the stop in Park City, Utah.
Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, Colo.) – Aspen hometown hero and three-time Winter X Games Snowboard SuperPipe gold medalist, Bleiler is the only woman in Winter X history to win SuperPipe three times. She is also the 2006 Olympic Halfpipe silver medalist and has secured her spot for Vancouver 2010.
Torah Bright (Salt Lake City, Utah) – The first Australian athlete to win a Winter X Games medal (2006 SuperPipe) and Winter X Games gold (2007 SuperPipe), Torah is known for her well-rounded pipe skills and lofty McTwists. Coming off a record-setting performance at Winter X Games 13, Torah is a strong contender to medal at the 2010 Olympic Games. She is a four-time Winter X Games medalist and the defending Winter X Games Snowboard SuperPipe champion.
Kelly Clark (Mount Snow, Vt.) – One of the most decorated women in snowboarding, Kelly Clark is a six-time Winter X Games medalist and two-time Olympian. She earned two Winter X Games gold medals and an Olympic gold in 2002. Last season she took home the Grand Prix, Ticket to Ride and Dew Tour Halfpipe titles.
Stanley Hayer (Calgary, AB, Canada) – The defending Winter X Games gold medalist, Stanley Hayer was the first Canadian to win men’s Skier X gold (2009). He also competed in the 2002 Olympics as an alpine racer.
Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, Calif.) – Four-time Snowboarder X gold medalist Nate Holland is going for the first-ever five-peat at Winter X Games 14. An Olympic competitor in 2006, Holland has been a member of the U.S. Snowboarding Team for six years.
Tucker Hibbert (Goodridge, Minn.) – The most dominant SnoCross racer competing today, Tucker Hibbert easily earned his third consecutive SnoCross gold medal at Winter X Games 13 and became only the second athlete ever to three-peat in SnoCross. Already in the record books for being the youngest athlete to win Winter X Games gold at 15-years-old, one more medal will make him the most decorated Snowmobile athlete in X Games history.
Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton, Vt.) – The defending Olympic Snowboard Cross silver medalist and tied for the most female Winter X Games gold medals (5). Attempting the second Snowboarder X three-peat of her career at Winter X Games 14, Jacobellis could claim the record for most overall Snowboarder X medals.
Hannah Teter (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) – Never finishing out of the top four in six Winter X Games SuperPipe competitions, Hannah Teter has four medals, including gold, from the Winter X Games. She also took home Olympic gold in the Halpipe event in 2006.
Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, Maine) – The 2006 Olympic Snowboard Cross gold medalist, Seth is attempting to capture the elusive Winter X Games Snowboarder X gold in 2010. Though he does not have Snowboarder X gold, Wescott is the most decorated male Snowboarder X athlete in Winter X Games history (eight medals total).