Team Asia Takes Men's Ski Superpipe
WHISTLER BLACKCOMB, B.C. - Competing in his first X Games event, Team Asia's Shoya Okazaki (Sapporo, Japan) skied like a true X veteran as he soared to a first place finish (12 points) at X Games Global Championship's Men's Ski SuperPipe competition in Whistler Blackcomb, B.C. Competing on home country turf, Team Canada's Philippe Belanger (Lac Beauport, Quebec) placed second (11 points) and Team USA's C.R. Johnson (Truckee, Calif.) placed third (10 points).
The incredibly strong field of skiers left the competition up in the air as to who would earn the most points for their team. Okazaki is known throughout the industry of having the raw talent, but until today, he has never been able to put together a winning run. His amplitude and technical skills came together seamlessly as Okazaki aired out of the pipe bigger than any other athlete in competition at Whistler this weekend. Okazaki dropped in the pipe and began with straight airs into a 540 tailgrab, then landed a jaw-dropping alleyoop flatspin, and finished his winning run with a 720 tailgrab.