17 Dec 2020

Four Kiwi snow sports athletes invited to X Games Aspen

9:10 am on 17 December 2020

Nico Porteous, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, Beau-James Wells and Jossi Wells have all received invitations to compete at the 2021 X Games in Aspen to be held in late January.

NZ snowboarder Zoi Sadowski Synnott.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Porteous and Beau-James Wells have been invited to compete in Freeski SuperPipe and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has been invited to compete in both Snowboard Big Air and Snowboard Slopestyle.

Jossi Wells, 27-time X Games competitor, four-time X Games medallist and X Games Aspen 2016 Freeski Slopestyle gold medallist, is the first alternate for the relatively new discipline 'Ski Knuckle Huck' in which skiers launch themselves over the knuckle (roller) of the Big Air jump and perform tricks.

With three X Games medals already to her name (X Games Norway 2020 Snowboard Slopestyle gold medallist, X Games Aspen 2019 Snowboard Slopestyle gold medallist and Big Air silver medallist) Sadowski-Synnott is thankful for the opportunity to compete at the top-level event.

"I am super grateful to have the opportunity to go overseas and compete in X Games again. I am feeling very good and healthy after a successful New Zealand winter".

Porteous (X Games Aspen 2019 Freeski SuperPipe bronze medallist) said that "X Games is the biggest event of the season and I am excited to be back skiing! It feels really good, especially as there are only eight people invited to compete in SuperPipe this year. It will be a little tricky as it is the first competition of the year, but I am excited to get back in the start gate".

Beau-James Wells, who has competed twice before at X Games Aspen (in 2014 and 2020), will be vying for his first X Games medal. "It's always epic to be invited to the biggest event in freeskiing apart from the Olympics, it is always a pleasure".