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Winter X Recap: Day Four
EXPN.com
Feb. 04, 2001

MOUNT SNOW, Vt. – Jussi take two.

Jussi Oksanen and Todd Richards both picked up their second medals of this year's Winter X Games as they finished one-two in the Men's Snowboarding Big Air competition. Oksanen nailed a switch backside 900 to score a 90.00 on his last atttempt and capture the gold, while Richards, who was in the lead the entire competition, finished his final run with a score of 89.33 to take home the silver.

"I am so stoked about the win," the 21-year-old Oksanen from Kirkkonummi, Finland said. "I stuck that switch backside 900 and everything came together in the end."

Jussi Oksanen
Jussi Oksanen got a 90.00 on his final run to secure the gold medal.

Both men medaled in Friday's Slopestyle discipline, as Richards once again won the silver medal while Oksanen snared the bronze. Richards was delighted with his performance.

"Any top three finish is a win," the 31-year-old Encinitas, Calif.native said."Everybody was pulling big tricks and everyone pushed each other."

Josh Dirksen,25, won the bronze medal with a final run score of 86.67. This is the Bend, Ore. native's first career X medal.

Women's Big Air

In the women's competition Tara Dakides,25, medaled in her third consecutive Winter X Games as she captured gold in Sunday's Snowboarding Big Air, but needed her last run score of 89.00 to overcome silver-medalist Barrett Christy and the rest of the field.

Dakides now owns five Winter X medals, including the last two Big Air titles.

"The hit was giving me some grief," Dakides said. "All the girls were laying down some big tricks."

The Californian is known for her daring resolve to pursue any and all tricks she imagines or sees. As a result, she is one of several snowboarders leading the charge to bridge the trick gap between men and women.

"I just see somebody do something, whether it be a girl or a guy and I just want to do it too," Dakides said. "And if it scares me then I just want to do it more. I don't like being scared and I don't like thinking that I'm not going to do something because I'm scared of it."

Right beside Dakides leading the charge was the 30-year-old Christy, who now can call herself the most decorated snowboarder in the event's history.

The Vail, Colo. resident hit double digits in medals with this silver, bringing her total number to 10 X Games medals to her name. Christy's final run score of 86.67 took over the gold medal position momentarily, but Dakides still had one final shot at the jump.

"I'm stoked to be here," Christy said. "Everyone was pushing one another. It was a great time."

Last year was the first time Christy did not medal in Big Air, but her performance at Mount Snow proves she is back on track. She has two gold medals and one silver medal in Winter X Big Air and one gold in the summer Big Air of 1999.

Jenna Murano claimed the bronze medal in just her third contest as a professional. The 25-year-old from Mammoth, Calif. nailed an 84.00 on her second run which was good enough to edge out Jessica Dalpiaz for third place.

HillCross

A pair of Canadians placed one-two in the inaugural HillCross discipline of the Snowmobiling competition. Carl Kuster, a 25-year-old from Westlock, Alberta, Canada, won the championship race after finishing first in the qualifying races up the mountain.

"I feel awesome and dizzy," Kuster said. "I don't even know if I breathed. I just had to squeeze the trigger and go. Go fast and be smooth." Kuster's countryman, 28-year-old Vinny Clark, from Valemount, B.C., Canada captured the silver medal.

"I felt like I was racing against the big boys," Clark said. "I've come a long way and I was just happy to be here. I loved the venue and couldn't believe how many people were here."

Clark was at least half right as he had to fend off a formidable young man in 16-year-old Matt Luczynski who took home the bronze medal.

"I'm so pumped," Luczynski said. "I can't even breathe right now. There was some bumping at the bottom, but it cleared out at the top. I just went full throttle the whole way up."

Moto X

In the Moto X competition, Mike Jones proved that Winter X is not simply a youth movement. As the oldest rider in the field, the 34-year-old used his new signature move, the "Kiss of Death" to overcome his younger opponents.

Mike Jones
Mike Jones performs the Kiss of Death.

Jones' first run of 88.33 would be all that the Export, Pa. native would need to carry home his first ever X medal. Prior to this competition, Jones had his best X finish last summer in San Francisco with his fifth place finish in the freestyle competition. But, it took the snow of Vermont to catapult Jones, who lives in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, onto the X Games podium.

"It was cool," Jones said. "The snow was just perfect. We were all worried about it, but it was lots of fun and I didn't have any problems pulling my tricks."

The winner of this Summer's Step Up competition at the X Games,Tommy Clowers, carried home the silver medal with a final run of 87.67. The 28-year-old Ramona, Calif. native now owns three career X medals. Clifford Adoptante, the 27-year-old rider from Corona, Calif., won the bronze medal with a first run score of 86.00.

Jeremy Stenberg, the youngest rider in the event at just 19, finished last of the 12 competitors.

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Mount Snow, VT / Feb. 1-4 2001
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