Winter X Games Aspen 2023 Day 2: Stevenson earns slopestyle gold, Choi breaks Chloe Kim's record while Iwabuchi and Kleveland stun in big air
Beijing 2022 Big Air silver medallist Stevenson put in the most consistent performances at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen to win gold, while women's snowboarding has a new young star to enjoy for many years to come.
Beijing 2022 big air silver medallist Colby Stevenson picked up the first gold medal on offer on Day 2 in the men's freestyle skiing slopestyle event at the Winter X Games Aspen 2023.
Stevenson was always going to be a major threat on home snow, and that proved to be the case as the Park City, Utah native put in the day's most consistent performances to top the podium.
He was joined on the podium by fellow American, 21-year-old Mac Forehand, who won silver, and Norway's Ferdinand Dahl, who finished with the bronze.
USA’s Alex Hall, who landed the men’s slopestyle Olympic title in 2022, and has won X Games titles in slopestyle, big air, and knuckle huck during 2019-2022, had a day to forget as he finished in seventh place.
Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli, the 2021 slopestyle world champion and three-time X Games winner who is returning from injury, and agonisingly missed out on a medal at Beijing 2022 after qualifying in first position for slopestyle, finished just outside the podium places in fourth.
Women's snowboard superpipe: Choi Gaon becomes youngest ever women's superpipe gold medallist
Move aside, Chloe Kim. There's a new young star in town in the form of 14-year-old Choi Gaon.
The Republic of Korea sensation became the youngest gold medallist in women's superpipe history at the X Games, overtaking her idol Kim's long-time record in the process.
Choi was in a neck-and-neck battle with USA's Maddie Mastro for the top spot, but ultimately the ninth grader came out on top, turning in the most consistent runs and pulling off the most technically-difficult tricks. Mastro, for her part, successfully pulled off the double crippler trick on this stage for the first time, but she ultimately finished with the silver medal.
People's Republic of China star Cai Xuetong finished with the bronze medal in her eighth X Games appearance.
Women's freestyle skiing superpipe: Atkin claims her first X Games medal
Zoe Atkin brought home her first X Games medal and she made it count by winning the gold after battling tough weather conditions alongside her competitors.
Atkin saved her best run for last as she overtook silver medallist Rachael Karker at the very end. Atkin demonstrated amplitude in blizzard-like conditions to ultimately come out on top.
Colorado native Svea Irving finished with the bronze as she moved into the podium position on her last run.
All of the competitors had a special spectator in the audience with Ailing (Eileen) Gu watching on after she suffered a knee injury in slopestyle training earlier in the weekend.
Women's snowboard big air: Iwabuchi adds gold to resume after groundbreaking night
The women's snowboard big air event was perhaps the most historic and electric of this Winter X Games Aspen 2023 so far, and it was Iwabuchi Reira who topped the podium with her perfectly-executed cab triple underflip being the exclamation point on a flawless performance.
The young Japanese star claimed her first gold medal in the competition and edged out New Zealand slopestyle Olympic champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott by a single point.
Canada's Laurie Blouin finished with the bronze medal after she landed a cab triple underflip on her final run after attempting it all evening. Her score of 48 was the highest single trick score throughout the night.
Men's snowboard big air: Kleveland runs away with third consecutive gold
Norway's Marcus Kleveland made it a three-peat as he scored an impressive 96 on the night, six points clear of his nearest challenger, Otsuka Takeru.
China's 18-year-old sensation Su Yiming won his first X Games medal in emphatc fashion, scoring a remarkable 48 in his final run on the night to jump into the bronze medal position with room to spare.
X Games 2023 Aspen schedule
You can find the full competition timings and schedule on the official website here.
Saturday, January 28
- Women's Snowboard Slopestyle
- Special Olympics Unified Snowboard & Ski
Sunday, January 29
- Women's Ski Big Air
- Ski Knuckle Huck
- Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe
- Men's Ski Slopestyle
- Women's Snowboard SuperPipe
Monday, January 30
- Women's Ski SuperPipe
- Women's Snowboard Big Air
- Men's Snowboard Big Air
- Women's Ski Slopestyle
- Men's Snowboard Slopestyle
Tuesday, January 31
- Snowboard Knuckle Huck
- Men's Ski Big Air
- Men’s Ski SuperPipe
Watch X Games Aspen 2023 on TV broadcast and online streams
X Games viewers in the USA can follow the action on ESPN/ABC, but the event will also be streamed to multiple countries across the globe on digital platforms YouTube and Twitch.
Full coverage details can be found here.
