ESPN returns to Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen Snowmass, Colo., January 25-28, 2018, for the 17th consecutive year to showcase the world’s premier action sports competition with live coverage on ESPN and ABC. The 2018 event will again feature action sports competitions, world-class musical performances and a festival village.
The first wave of athlete invites will include 81 invitations to compete at X Games Aspen 2018. All 2017 medalists with sport disciplines returning in 2018 received an automatic invite to compete in the 2018 event. For a complete list of invited athletes please visit www.xgames.com.
X Games Aspen will provide a compelling content experience with 15.5 hours of live action sports coverage on ESPN and ABC, live streaming of action sports and music coverage through the ESPN app, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes and companion content on XGames.com, the X Games app and X Games social media platforms.
(Photo by Pete Demos / ESPN Images)
The first wave of invited athletes (in alphabetical order) includes:
- Brock Hoyer (Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada) – Hoyer has dirt bike racing chops honed on the Canadian Arenacross and Supercross scene, and crushed the competition to take gold in the inaugural Snow BikeCross event at X Games Aspen 2017. He initially saw snow bikes as a way to train year round near his home in British Columbia, but he’s since become a star of viral backcountry freeriding videos and has emerged as the man to beat after wins in some of the first sanctioned Snow BikeCross and Snow Bike Hillcross events.
- Chloe Kim (Torrance, California) – Chloe Kim blew minds in 2016, earning two X Games gold (Aspen and Oslo) and made history at the Park City Grand Prix by landing back-to-back 1080s, scoring a perfect 100 (the first time either has been done by a woman). Kim came back to X Games Aspen 2017 and earned bronze, and will look to earn her sixth X Games medal in six appearances this year. A tri-lingual, first-generation American, Chloe has worked hard to achieve success: At age 8, she was crossing country lines atop glaciers to train in a European halfpipe.
- Jamie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, California) – The most decorated rider in X Games Slopestyle history, Jamie owns 13 medals, including four gold. She won slopestyle’s Olympic debut in 2014 and has never missed the podium when competing in X Games Slopestyle. Her results prove her unparalleled consistency, and her riding is authoritative and stylish.
- Julia Marino (Westport, Connecticut) – Julia Marino is suddenly one of the hottest athletes in snowboarding. The 19-year-old took a surprising but well-earned gold in X Games Aspen 2017 Slopestyle and added Big Air bronze, all in her rookie X Games appearance. She followed it up with a bronze in Slopestyle and silver in Big Air at X Games Norway, after earning her first World Cup slopestyle win in Quebec City in mid-February. Originally a skier, the Westport, Connecticut, teen burst onto the scene by winning the Big Air at Fenway event in 2016.
- Marcus Kleveland (Dombås, Norway) – Greatness has been predicted for Marcus Kleveland for years, and the Norwegian teen was the story of X Games Aspen 2017. The 17-year-old beat the best in the world on his way to Slopestyle gold, and then added Big Air silver, landing the first quadruple cork in competition in the process. Snowboarder Magazine’s 2016 Rookie of the Year also clinched the overall 2017 Air + Style title.
- Mark McMorris (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) – With his immense talent, Canadian McMorris is fashioning one of the best X Games careers in history, with an incredible 14 medals in 16 starts. He’s been one of snowboarding’s leading men since taking double gold in X Games Slopestyle and Big Air in 2012, repeating the feat in 2015 to become the second snowboarder in history to earn double gold at a single event twice. Mark broke his right femur at the L.A. Air + Style in February 2016, and made a triumphant comeback, earning two medals at X Games Aspen 2017 and one at X Games Norway before injuring himself again in a backcountry crash. McMorris looks to return and compete in both Slopestyle and Big Air once again.
- Øystein Braaten (Torpo, Norway) – Now one of the best contest skiers on the scene, Braaten clinched another Slopestyle gold at X Games Norway 2017 after earning a convincing Slopestyle gold at X Games Aspen 2017 and taking bronze in the discipline at X Games Aspen 2016 as well as winning the overall 2016 AFP slopestyle title. The native of tiny Torpo, Norway will be favored to add to his medal collection this year in Slopestyle.
- Scotty James (Warrandyte, Australia) – The 22-year-old Aussie is already a two-time Olympian and clinched his first X Games gold medal last year in Aspen in Snowboard SuperPipe. Aspen 2016 marked him becoming the first male Australian snowboarder to medal at X Games. A technical rider with a great attitude, Scotty puts a lot of style and switch tricks into his run.
- Torin Yater-Wallace (Aspen, Colorado) – One of the most talented SuperPipe skiers the discipline has seen, Yater-Wallace is known for garnering four X Games medals, including gold, by age 18. He missed X Games Aspen 2015 due to injury, but returned in 2016 to compete at X Games Oslo where he earned gold. Yater-Wallace will look to earn his sixth medal in Ski SuperPipe this year and his first gold in his hometown of Aspen.
The full initial list of invited athletes can be found on www.xgames.com. Additional information on all X Games Aspen events will be forthcoming on www.xgames.com for fans or on www.espnmediazone.com for media only. For photos please visit www.espnimages.com.
Tickets and full music schedules are now available at XGames.com. As always, general admission to the action sports competitions and festival villages is free to the public.
*PLEASE NOTE: The invited athlete list and competition schedule is constantly being updated and is subject to change.
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Contacts:
Grace Coryell ESPN X Games, 213-405-4402, grace.s.coryell@espn.com
Danny Chi ESPN X Games, 213-405-4400, danny.c.chi@espn.com
Olivia Wilson ESPN X Games, 213-405-4015, olivia.wilson@espn.com
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