And it’s another gold medal for Scotty James!
The 28-year-old professional snowboarder defended his first place finish from 2022 during the Monster Energy Snowboard SuperPipe competition on Friday (January 27) at X Games Aspen 2023 in Aspen, CO. The win makes this his fifth X Games medal in the seven times he’s competed in the discipline.
With heavy snow causing a contest delay, athletes weren’t able to achieve the amplitude they hoped to in the SuperPipe Finals; however, each rider still showcased their technical skills, once again moving the needle for the progression of superpipe snowboarding.
X Games Aspen 2023 Day 1 Recap – January 27, 2023
“We got some real Winter X Games weather today, James told Celeb Secrets host Juliet Schroder at the base of Buttermilk Mountain after the contest. “It was snowing and there were some variable conditions that made it challenging for us, but the show went on and we managed to get it done which was super exciting.”
The Aussie threw down a 180 drop-in to switch, switch chicken wing McTwist, Cab double cork 1080 Indy, frontside 1080 tailgrab, Cab 900 Weddle grab and a switch backside 1260 Indy for his winning run, leaving the judges and at-capacity crowd in awe at the base of the mountain.
“It’s quite an interesting energy to manage, but I really thrive off it and I really love the energy of everyone down here. I was really happy and grateful for all of them sticking it out,” James says of the pressure with putting down a unique, medal-worthy run.
“It’s not easy in these cold conditions, so we all appreciate that. It was a really cool turnout tonight and I love the energy, so it was awesome.”
Rounding out the podium was Jan Scherrer in the silver medal position thanks to a Backside 900 tail grab, frontside double cork 1080 Indy, Cab double cork 1080 Indy, frontside 1260 Indy and an alley-pop frontside 900 nosegrab with Valentino Guseli taking home the bronze. Guseli’s run consisted of a 15′ 5″ switch method — which is the second-highest measured air of the contest — Cab double cork 1080 Indy, frontside slatspin 1260 tailgrab, backside 900 Weddle and a frontside double cork 1080 Indy.
For more on Scotty’s big win, watch our full interview below where he talks about how he managed to walk away with a win, what motivates him when he’s competing, and how he preps to land a run of a lifetime.
Keep up with James by following him on Instagram at @scottyjames31 and watch the entire contest here:
For more coverage from X Games Aspen 2023, click here.
