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‘X’ marks the spot for Whistler athletes

Whistler athletes are among the athletes selected to represent Canada at the first ever X-Games Global Championships on May 17. The championships pit two athletes from each region against the world in various summer and winter X-Games events.

Whistler athletes are among the athletes selected to represent Canada at the first ever X-Games Global Championships on May 17.

The championships pit two athletes from each region against the world in various summer and winter X-Games events. The regions include Canada, the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.

While the X-Games and extreme sports are traditionally individual events, the organizers created the X-Games Global Championships to bring some patriotism into the mix.

The summer events will take place in San Antonio, Texas and the winter events on Whistler Mountain. There are 11 events in total, and only the winter sport events are open to both male and female competitors.

The athlete invitations were based on results from this season from a variety of different events, including the X-Games, the U.S. Open, various World Cups, and others.

On April 1, after months of anticipation, the list of athletes was announced.

Team Canada looks pretty good at this point, although with only the best of the best invited to compete, nobody is going to cakewalk their way onto a podium. For the most part the athletes are young, aggressive, and capable of winning medals on any given day.

In the Superpipe competition, Whistler rider Maelle Ricker and Vancouver’s Natasza Zurek will represent Canada on the women’s side. Both are members of the national team, and both have participated in the Olympics, on the World Cup circuit and in industry events like the X-Games, Van Triple Crown, and U.S. Open.

In the men’s Superpipe, the Canadian field was narrowed down to Whistler’s Trevor Andrew and Guillaume Morisset of Stoneham, Quebec. Both are past members of the national team, Olympians, and have similar competitive credentials to the Canadian women.

In the skier’s Superpipe, Sarah Burke will be representing Canada. Burke used to live in Whistler, but the 20-year-old, who is originally from Ontario, is skiing out of Mammoth this season. Burke was the first female skier to land a 1080 in a freeski competition, and is still the only competitor to consistently land 720s.

This year she was first in the U.S. Open Slopestyle and second in the U.S. Open halfpipe.

In the men’s Superpipe, two of the Phil’s, Philippe Belanger and Philippe Larose of Quebec City were chosen to represent Canada. Both are among the founders of the new school freeski movement, both have ample experience competing in premier events, and both are capable of winning the gold medal on any given day.

In the summer events, Canada has strong contenders in every event.

Jay Miron of Coquitlam, B.C., has won nine X-Games medals in the BMX competition, and has a good shot in the park event at San Antonio. He’ll be joined by Vancouver’s Dave Osato, an up and coming rider who rarely finishes outside the top-10 in any event.

Miron will also compete in the vert ramp, where he will be joined by Rob Sigaty of Nelson, another veteran of the sport who is comfortable in any type of event.

In the aggressive in-line skate park contest, Nick Adams and Matt Donald of Montreal will represent Canada. Jon Bergeron of Longveil, Quebec, and Elmer Pillon of Toronto are on deck in the vert ramp event.

In the skateboard park event, the Canadians are Rick McCrank of Vancouver and Dan Pageau of Montreal. In the vert ramp, Pierre Luc Gagnon of Montreal is Canada’s best hope. Gagnon is a gold medal winner in the X-Games before, and was the world champion in 2001. He’ll be joined in the vert ramp by Max Dufour of St. Lambert, Quebec.

In the Moto X Freestyle contest, the Canadians are Benoit Milot of Yamachiche, Quebec, and Mike Samson of Kamloops.

The Competition:

Team USA

Snowboard Superpipe Men

Ross Powers, Londonderry, Vermont

Shaun White, Carlsbad, California

Snowboard Superpipe Women

Gretchen Bleiler, Snowmass Village, Colorado

Kelly Clark, Mount Snow, Vermont

Ski Superpipe Men

Tanner Hall, Kalispell, Montana

CR Johnson, Truckee, CA

Ski Superpipe Women

Kim Stacey, Mammoth, CA

Bike Stunt Park

Dave Mirra, Greenville, North Carolina

Ryan Nyquist, Greenville, NC

Bike Stunt Vert

Dave Mirra, Greenville, NC

Kevin Robinson, Woodward, Pennsylvania

Skateboard Park

Eric Koston, San Bernadina, California

Chris Senn, Grass Valley, CA

Skateboard Vert

Bucky Lasek, Carslbad, CA

Andy Macdonald, San Diego, CA

Aggressive In-Line Park

Brian Aragon, Brighton, CO

Jaren Grob, Orem, Utah

Moto X Freestyle

Mike Metzger, Menifee, CA

Kenny Bartram, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Team Asia

Snowboard Superpipe Men

Keijiro Kasahara, Japan

Takashiro Ishihara, Japan

Snowboard Superpipe Women

Junko Asazuma, Japan

Yuri Yoshikawa, Japan

Ski Superpipe Men

Shoya Okazaki, Japan

Motoki Shimomura, Japan

Ski Superpipe Women

Tomoko Kojima, Japan

Bike Stunt Park

Kenji Tsuruta, Japan

Shuji Ueyama, Japan

Bike Stunt Vert

Seiji Saito, Japan

Shuji Ueyama, Japan

Skateboard Park

Ahmad Fadzil Musa, Malaysia

Mohd Zamri Mohd Ramli, Malaysia

Skateboard Vert

Yota Manome, Japan

Gen Ogawa, Japan

Aggressive In-Line Park

Ken Kitada, Japan

Jeeresak Tassorn, Thailand

Moto X Freestyle

Eigo Sato, Japan

Daisuke Suzuki

Team Europe

Snowboard Superpipe Men

Daniel Franck, Norway

Gian Simmen, Switzerland

Snowboard Superpipe Women

Manuela Pesko, Norway

Doriane Vidal, France

Ski Superpipe Men

Jon Olsson, Sweden

Candide Thovex, France

Ski Superpipe Women

Marie Martinode, France

Bike Stunt Park

Ruben Alcantara, Spain

Alistair Whitton, Britain

Bike Stunt Vert

Jamie Bestwick, Britain

Simon Tabron, Britain

Skateboard Park

Chris Astrom, Sweden

Jeremy Reinhard, Germany

Skateboard Vert

Rune Glifberg, Denmark

Mathias Ringstrom, Sweden

Aggressive In-Line Park

Stephane Alfano, France

Bruno Lowe, Germany

Moto X Freestyle

Manu Troux, France

Sebastian Wolter, Germany

Team Australia

Snowboard Superpipe Men

Andrew Burton

Marcus Wehrle

Snowboard Superpipe Women

Torah Bright

Holly Crawford

Ski Superpipe Men

Woodie Bouma

Ben Murphy

Ski Superpipe Women

Cat Smiley

Bike Stunt Park

Ryan Guettier

Colin Mackay

Bike Stunt Vert

Matt Fairbairn

Robert Smith

Skateboard Park

Chad Bartie

Jeff Williams

Skateboard Vert

Jake Brown

Renton Millar

Aggressive In-Line Park

Ian Brown

Blake Dennis

Moto X Freestyle

Dayne Kinnaird

Luke Urek

Team South America

Snowboard Superpipe Men

Franz Baehr, Chile

Spiro Razis, Chile

Snowboard Superpipe Women

Carolia Galeano, Chile

Magnolia Barra, Chile

Ski Superpipe Men

TBD

Ski Superpipe Women

TBD

Bike Stunt Park

Latin American X Games Champions

Bike Stunt Vert

Latin American X Games Champions

Skateboard Park

Carlos de Andrade, Brazil

Rodil De Araujo Jr, Brazil

Skateboard Vert

Bob Burnquist, Brazil

Sandro Dias, Brazile

Aggressive In-Line Park

Santiago Azpurua, Venezuela

Carlos Pianowski, Brazil

Moto X Freestyle

Rudy Waller, Costa Rica

Javier Villejas, Chile