Heavy snow forced the X Games’ marquee event, men’s snowboard halfpipe, to end after one of a scheduled three runs in Aspen, Colo., on Saturday night.
The shortened competition led to a surprising podium — winner Matt Ladley, followed by Ben Ferguson and Australian Olympian Scotty James — all first-time X Games medalists. Full results are here.
Ladley, who failed to make the four-rider 2014 U.S. Olympic team, scored 82.33 points, competing in a Peyton Manning Denver Broncos jersey.
“Getting ready for two [more] runs and, oh, by the way, we’re done,” Ladley told ESPN. “Maybe not the way I saw it happening, but weather comes in, and it’s one of those things you can’t control.”
Pre-event favorites Danny Davis (two-time defending champion), Ayumu Hirano (Olympic silver medalist) and Iouri Podladtchikov (Olympic champion) were ninth, 10th and 12th in the 12-rider field.
The competition lacked eight-time X Games halfpipe champ Shaun White, who missed the event for the second time in three years but is slated to compete in X Games Oslo next month.
Earlier, Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Mark McMorris won snowboard slopestyle for the fourth time in five years, landing back-to-back triple cork 1440s for a 92.66 (video below). Full results are here.
U.S. Olympic champion Sage Kotsenburg was 10th after placing fifth last year and 15th in 2014, one month before his Olympic stunner. Kotsenburg has made the X Games slopestyle podium once in seven tries.
The X Games conclude Sunday, highlighted by the women’s halfpipe with three-time Olympic medalist Kelly Clark and defending champion Chloe Kim.
