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It's not all about Shaun White, but it could be! See "The Animal" throw down HUGE and watch Tim Humphreys work harder than anyone else trying to win a Volvo!
BONUS VIDEO!
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| MEN'S HALFPIPE |
March 22 |
| Rank | Rider | Country |
| 1 |
Shaun White |
United States |
| 2 |
Mason Aguirre |
United States |
| 3 |
Kevin Pearce |
United States |
| 4 |
Peetu Piiroinen |
Finland |
| 5 |
Markus Malin |
Finland |
| 6 |
Ross Baker |
United States |
| 7 |
Scotty Lago |
United States |
| 8 |
Kazuhiro Kokubo |
Japan |
| 9 |
Broc Waring |
United States |
| 10 |
Kim Rune Hansen |
Norway |
| 11 |
Janne Korpi |
Finland |
| 12 |
Guillaume Morisset |
Canada |
| 13 |
Steve Fisher |
United States |
| 14 |
Greg Bretz |
United States |
| 15 |
Jeff Batchelor |
Canada |
| WOMEN'S HALFPIPE |
March 22 |
| Rank | Rider | Country |
| 1 |
Torah Bright |
Australia |
| 2 |
Kelly Clark |
United States |
| 3 |
Gretchen Bleiler |
United States |
| 4 |
Soko Yamaoka |
Japan |
| 5 |
Manuela Laura Pesko |
Switzerland |
| 6 |
Ellery Hollingsworth |
United States |
| 7 |
Clair Bidez |
United States |
| 8 |
Mercedes Nicoll |
Canada |
| MEN'S SLOPESTYLE |
March 21 |
| Rank | Rider | Country |
| 1 |
Shaun White |
United States |
| 2 |
Tim Humphreys |
United States |
| 3 |
Charles Reid |
Canada |
| 4 |
Ville Uotila |
Finland |
| 5 |
Peetu Piiroinen |
Finland |
| 6 |
Nate Sheehan |
United States |
| 7 |
Sami Saarenp |
Finland |
| 8 |
Sam Hulbert |
United States |
| 9 |
Chas Guldemond |
United States |
| 10 |
Risto Mattila |
Finland |
| 11 |
Ian Thorley |
United States |
| 12 |
Markku Koski |
Finland |
| 13 |
Scotty Lago |
United States |
| 14 |
Matts Kulisek |
Canada |
| 15 |
Chris Soerman |
Sweden |
| WOMEN'S SLOPESTYLE |
March 21 |
| Rank | Rider | Country |
| 1 |
Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas |
Norway |
| 2 |
Jamie Anderson |
United States |
| 3 |
Jenny Jones |
Great Brittain |
| 4 |
Sina Candrian |
Switzerland |
| 5 |
Cheryl Maas |
Netherlands |
| 6 |
Faye Gulini |
United States |
| 7 |
Katie Williams |
United States |
| 8 |
Mary Sallah |
United States |
| 9 |
Izumi Amaike |
Japan |
| 10 |
Chanelle Sladics |
United States |
| 11 |
Jordan Karlinski |
United States |
| 12 |
Laurie Currier |
United States |
| 13 |
Bev Vuilleumier |
United State |
| 14 |
Taylor Owen |
United States |
| 15 |
Spencer O'Brien |
Canada |
Here are a few notes from the comp:
One thing that sucks about nicknames, is that you can't choose your own. In the 2006 Olympics, when Shaun White took the gold medal in snowboard halfpipe, the media dubbed him "The Flying Tomato," due to his big mop of red locks sticking out from under his helmet. And once the world associated the young phenom with this unfortunate moniker, its been difficult for him to shake it. At the US Open, last weekend in Stratton, Vermont, it was obvious that the world's most recognizable snowboarder was making a play for something else. And what did he choose? According to The Voice of Snowboarding, "Dingo" Mr White's new nickname is "The Animal."
The story behind it, is that the 21-year-old White was invited to take a ride on a US fighter jet. Apparently, after the pilot performed enough loops and rolls to make a trapeze artist vomit, he asked the snowboarder formerly known as The Flying Tomato, if he was ready to quit. Instead of quitting, White wanted more, and would not let the ride end until they emptied the tank
Afterward, the pilot told the press that White was like an "animal," or so the rumor goes.
Dingo did his best to get the new nickname out to the masses, and for White's sake, lets all hope it sticks.
White's performance in the halfpipe and on the slopestyle course was far above anyone else, so the only real drama was who would take second place. The only one to step up was Flow rider Tim Humphreys, who placed second behind White in slopestyle. Just before the last event in the weekend competition, Big Air, Humphreys discovered that if he won the event and took the award for best trick, he would tally up enough points to win a new Volvo - a prize that White had nearly sealed up with wins in both the ‘pipe and slopestyle.
Without White in the Big Air comp, Humphreys went to work like a mad man possessed, throwing down every trick in his book, and then some. Even after the announcers had declared the end of the Big Air jam session, Humphreys was still at it. Logging more laps than anyone could count.
In the end, Humphreys won the Big Air, but fell short on winning the best trick. So "The Animal" got the keys to the Volvo after all.
The spoiler for Humphrey's bid for the new wheels was Torstein Horgmo, a name who many might recognize from winning the gold medal in the X-Games Big Air event. Torstein threw down a huge 1260, between a barrage of fireworks in the final.
Horgmo, like many other US Open competitors, enjoys listening to his own personal soundtrack on his headphones as he hits the rails and kickers of the slopestyle course. And what does he listen to? He says its ancient chanting, "the kind of music that the Vikings would listen to before going on raids," says Horgmo. "The Vikings would listen to this and then go kill a lot of people."
At least that is what Horgmo says. According to Humphreys, Horgmo is really listening to "Britney Spears." And as for some of the other riders, Antti Autti listens to David Bowie and The Rolling Stones. Kevin Pearce sometimes listens to John Lennon. As for Switzerland's Alessandro Boyens, "Slipknot gets me pumped for competing," he said, "otherwise I hate it."
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