TIDSTRAND USHERS IN NEW ERA

Outlasts reigning champ Huttary to earn first Winter X gold

In the past, if your name wasn’t Karin Huttary or Aleisha Cline you knew you were pretty much racing for bronze in Women’s Skiing Skier X. The pair has combined for golds in five out of the past seven Skier X races, including firsts in the past four. That all changed on Sunday afternoon at Buttermilk Mountain when a 19-year-old speed skiing queen from Malung, Sweden named Sanna Tidstrand shot into the lead and held of Huttary for her first-ever Winter X Games gold medal.

“I stayed focused and didn’t let all the crashing bother me,” said Tidstrand, who watched three of her fellow competitors get knocked out of the competition with injuries. “It’s unbelievable to win with such a strong group of skiers.

“I had my work cut out for me. My skis were really fast today. I got the holeshot and never looked back even though I could feel the others on my back.”

Huttary (Innsbruck, Austria) continued her strong performances at Winter X with a silver medal, her third medal in as many years (one gold, two silver).

“Second is good,” said Huttary. “It’s always good to medal in this type of field.”

Magdalena Jonsson (Nora, Sweden) added a bronze to a pair of silvers from 2002 and 2001.

WOMEN’S SKIER X
Finals Results from Aspen/Snowmass Sunday, January 30, 2005 1. Sanna Tidstrand 600 Malung, Sweden 55.097
2. Karin Huttary 592 Innsbruck, Austria 55.385
3. Magdalena Jonsson 593 Nora, Sweden 55.662
4. Anik Demers 587 Lac-Beauport, QC, Canada 55.894
5. Jenni Kilpinen 594 Jyvaskyla, Finland 55.982
6. Valentine Scuotto 596 Megeve, France 56.142