Aspen, CO (Friday, January 31, 2003) - Home superpipe advantage went to Aspen local Gretchen Bleiler as she won ESPN Winter X Games gold Friday with 95.33 points for her third victory in three tries. Sixteen-year-old phenom Shaun White (San Diego, CA) topped the men’s event with 97.67 points. For White, the win marks his first X Games victory after stomping silver in both superpipe and slopestyle one year ago when he was the youngest competitor in any Winter X event.

The win for Bleiler comes two weeks after a victory at the June Mountain Continental Cup and another at the second stop of the Vans Triple Crown just five days ago. Bleiler said she was feeling the momentum heading into the X Games after winning the Triple Crown, but hasn’t slowed since taking second at the September World Cup opener in Chile. She then posted double seconds on the Chevy Truck U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix series. Bleiler has posted a top three in every halfpipe that she has dropped into on the season.

Rounding out the women’s top three was last year’s superpipe champ Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT), who stormed back to the podium with 94 points and a second place result followed by fellow Vermonter Hannah Teter (Belmont, VT) with 91.67 points. Teter, who turned 16 Monday, has also been cruising this season with two Grand Prix wins and podium finishes at both the Triple Crown and Continental Cup. On the men’s side, finishing one point shy of White for silver was ’02 Olympic silver medalist Danny Kass (Hamburg, NJ), while Finland’s Markku Koski nabbed bronze with 96.33 points.

2003 ESPN WINTER X GAMES
Aspen, CO – Jan. 31

Women’s Superpipe
1. Gretchen Bleiler, Snowmass Village, CO - 95.33
2. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT - 94.00
3. Hannah Teter, Belmont, VT - 91.67
4. Lindsey Jocobellis, Bondville, VT - 90.33
5. Barrett Christy, Vail, CO - 89.33
6. Manuela Pesko, Switzerland - 88.00
7. Fabienne Reuteler, Switzerland - 84.67
8. Natasza Zurek, Canada - 79.00
9. Dorian Vidal, France - 74.33
10. Tricia Byrnes, New Canaan, CT - 64.67

Men’s Superpipe
1. Shaun White, San Diego, CA - 97.67
2. Danny Kass, Hamburg, NJ - 96.67
3. Markku Koski, Finland - 96.33
4. Ross Powers, South Londonderry, VT - 95.67
5. Vinzenz Lueps, Germany - 94.00
6. J.J. Thomas, Golden, CO - 92.67
7. Keir Dillon, East Stroudsburg, PA - 91.33
8. Tommy Czeschin, Mammoth Lakes, CA - 90.33
9. Joe Eddy, Steamboat Springs, CO - 90.00
10. Elijah Teter, Belmont, VT - 77.67