It’s another X Games in the books for Alex Hall and he did not come home empty handed.
The 25-year-old skier added two silver medals to his collection of trophies this weekend thanks to his second place finishes in Pacifico Men’s Ski Big Air on Friday (January 26) and Samsung Galaxy Men’s Ski Slopestyle on Saturday (January 27) during X Games Aspen 2024 in Aspen, Colorado.
“I’m super excited [to be back on the podium] I’m glad all the boys made it through healthy and I’m super hyped on second,” Alex tells Celeb Secrets host Juliet Schroder at the base of Buttermilk Mountain moments after the Big Air contest.
“[X Games] is the one event where we all get to hang out together from all the different sports… snowboard, skiing, halfpipe, whatever… we share the athlete lounge together, so we all get to hang out, and it’s super special to just spend time with a bunch of people you don’t get to see too much,” he continues.
During Pacifico Men’s Ski Big Air on Friday, eight skiers executed never-been-done tricks to wow the crowd in a nail-biting 20-minute jam session. Though each athlete challenged their abilities to put down two solid runs, USA’s Troy Podmilsak took the competition by storm when he launched from last to first to dethrone two-time X Games Big Air gold medalist Alex Hall (USA) by one point. Austrian Daniel Bacher clinched the third podium spot.
Throughout the contest, Hall held a 15-point lead over the rest of his opponents. But when Podmilsak snuck from behind to land a massive forward triple cork 2160, the rest was history.
With the sport’s progression moving at its fastest pace yet, the Olympic gold medalist tells Celeb Secrets it’s sometimes “tough” to keep up with everything going on, but at the end of the day, he’s just trying to have fun.
“It’s tough. All these young kids are so good that I just have to try and have fun with it and kind of push the creative side of things a little more,” he says. “I’ve really been having fun exploring that, so hopefully I can keep it going.”
The following morning, Alex joined nine other skiers to show off his Slopestyle skills that brought on the highest level of style, technicality and creativity.
After finishing just off the podium in Big Air last night, two-time X Games Ski Big Air gold medalist Birk Ruud of Norway found redemption as he took home his first Slopestyle gold medal in dramatic fashion. Maximizing the rail and jump sections of the course from top to bottom took him from a score of 34.00 to 96.00 in his last attempt, with a memorable back-to-back right double cork 1620 safety grab, switch left side double cork 1620 and ending with a left double cork bio 1800.
The now eleven-time gold medalist took second and last year’s silver medalist Mac Forehand (USA) took third.
“I’m stoked to get any type of X Games medal, so to hit the double digits is sick,” the Park City, Utah athlete says. “It’s been awhile and fun to be apart of.”
Already looking ahead to what’s next, Alex says he will be focusing his time on trying new tricks while positioning himself to in a good headspace to win more medals.
“I’m definitely trying new stuff and spending time thinking… just thinking about what could be cool and what could work,” he says. “I’m spending a lot of time thinking about my skiing and hopefully translating it to the snow.”
Celeb Secrets caught up with Alex moments after the Big Air contest, where he talked about his silver medal finish, what he loves most about X Games and what’s next for the rest of the season. Check out the full interview below and let us know if you’re hyped for the skier’s big finish by leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post.
For more coverage from X Games Aspen 2024, click here.
