Mark McMorris and Silje Norendal Win Gold in 2015 Winter X Games
ASPEN — Using the rail section at the top of the slopestyle course, riders Mark McMorris and Silje Norendal won gold Sunday in the Winter X Games finals.
Norendal defended her 2014 gold with a final run that snuck past four-time gold medalist Jamie Anderson.
Norendal, 21, spun technical performance on the rails at the top of the course — riding on the wall and grinding rotations off the rails — fueled a 93.66 score that pushed her past Anderson's second-run 91.33.
A few minutes later, the judges again rewarded the most technical rail riding, delivering McMorris, the contest's top qualifier, his fifth X Games gold. McMorris, who won big air Friday night, has twice won two golds in a single X Games.
Spinning a creative line through the rail section, McMorris was able to pass Norwegian rider Stale Sandbech, even though Sandbech's flipping tricks off the jumps were more technical.
Both riders hit switch backside 1260s off the first hit. Sandbech threw a 1440 double-cork off the middle air, compared to McMorris' 1080-degree rotation in the same double-flipping trick. Both riders stomped huge triple-cork 1440s on the final jump. That mute-grabbed triple-cork 1440 has served McMorris well in slopestyle, delivering him two golds and a silver in the last three X Games slopestyle contests.
McMorris said the new switch 12 and his rail work contributed to his 96-point second run.
"I wanted to something different and I'm glad I took the time and brought that switch 12 into the run because I think it played huge on my score," he said. "I think the rails definitely set me apart too."
Sandbech earned his first X Games silver on Sunday, adding to his trio of bronze medals. Swedish rider Sven Thorgren collected his first X Games with bronze.