Sorry Charlie, no Jon Olsson on this big air jump
As previously speculated, Jon Olsson has officially dropped out of the X Games Skier Big Air contest over concerns about the safety of the jump being used for the contest. The move was especially painful as Jon had just announced the successful creation of a new double flip known as the ‘Tornado’ which he was training in hopes of throwing for the contest.
Jon had this to say on his blog:
After walking up to the jump working on all my positive thoughts, I finally after a few hits and 45 minutes of debating decided not to participate in X Games Big Air.
I can’t really blame the jump or anything else than myself as the other guys where killing it. But to me the high speed high impact jump seemed mega scary, I could not see myself throwing much at all on it. I guess the way you look at kickers changes as you get older, margins of angles get smaller.
I am going to go to bed very disappointed. I have always listened to myself when it comes to things I don’t feel comfortable with, that has kept me out of injuries for 10 years, but this was the most difficult decision I have taken in a long time. This is not what I came here for.
Winter X Games Skier Big Air Predictions:
After seeing video of Jon’s ‘Tornado’ flip, I thought the Swede would have a high chance of winning if he could successfully stomp the trick. However, now with Jon essentially boycotting the contest, the door is open for a young buck to make a move.
At this point in the game I have to think Breckenridge-local and teen heartthrob Bobby Brown has a great shot at walking away with the gold tomorrow night. His brand new double switch misty had everyone talking this week, and he has been stomping the trick in a variety of conditions with everything ranging from blustery wind to flat light.
While the jump is arguably not the best it could be for competitors, I look for Brown to rise above the adversity of the terrain and walk away with the title. With that I put his odds at 4:1.
Should Brown decide to hold back the double switch misty until Saturday’s slopestyle finals, I look for Elias Ambuhl to make a strong showing. He is one of only a few riders doing tail grabs with their double corks, something that is much more difficult to implement with the trick, because of that I put Ambuhl at 8:1 odds.
Finally, the last top candidates in my opinion for tomorrow night’s big air contest are Tom Wallisch and Russ Henshaw. Wallisch has the most fantastic ‘suction-cup’ landings in the game, and Henshaw can double grab his double cork 1260s like no other. Both used these supreme skills to notch many of podiums during all the city big air events throughout Europe this fall. Having to pick between the two is nothing short of impossible, so I’m going to take the cop out and give them 10:1 odds a piece.
Make sure to tune in to ESPN tomorrow night at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific time to check out how these predictions hold up.
