X Games Aspen 2019 Reveals First Wave of Invited Athletes and Competition Schedule

X Games Aspen 2019 Reveals First Wave of Invited Athletes and Competition Schedule

Complete List of Athletes and Full Schedule Available at XGames.com

ESPN returns to Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen Snowmass, Colo., January 24-27, 2019, for the 18th consecutive year to showcase the world’s premier action sports competition with live coverage on ESPN and ABC. The 2019 event will again feature action sports competitions, world-class musical performances and a festival village.

The first wave of athlete invites include 82 invitations to compete at X Games Aspen 2019. All 2018 medalists with sport disciplines returning in 2019 received an automatic invite to compete in the 2019 event. For a complete list of invited athletes and full competition schedule, please visit www.xgames.com.

More than 75 Olympians return to the biggest stage in action sports, competing in 17 disciplines televised live across the globe on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC and international syndication partners. Fans can also follow X Games across digital and social media platforms to watch behind the scenes, athlete curated and complementary content to enhance the X Games Aspen 2019 telecasts.

The first wave of invited athletes (in alphabetical order) includes:

• Ayumu Hirano (Murakami, Japan) – The first Japanese athlete ever to win an X Games winter event, Hirano now owns two gold medals in Snowboard SuperPipe from X Games Oslo 2016 and X Games Aspen 2018. The young phenom who looks to defend his title this year was also the youngest athlete at the time to medal at an X Games winter event when he won silver at X Games Aspen 2013, and most recently took home his second Olympic medal with silver in PyeongChang.

• Cassie Sharpe (Comox, British Columbia, Canada) – The reigning Olympic champion in women’s ski halfpipe has also taken home a gold (Oslo 2016) and bronze (Aspen 2018) at X Games. Sharpe announced her arrival as a major podium threat back in 2015 when she won silver at the 2015 FIS World Championships. Keeping it in the family, Sharpe’s brother, Darcy, has also competed at X Games and took home silver in snowboard Slopestyle last year.

• 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 had been done by a woman). Kim earned bronze at X Games Aspen 2017 before reclaiming her spot with a gold at X Games Aspen 2018 and then taking gold at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

• David Wise (Reno, Nevada) – Husband, father, and four-time X Games Aspen Ski SuperPipe champ, Reno’s Wise is also the two-time Olympic gold medalist in halfpipe (Sochi, Pyeongchang). A stylish rider with laser focus, Wise is known for pushing the envelope and also published a children’s book in February 2017 titled Very Bear and the Butterfly.

• Henrik Harlaut (Are, Sweden) – Ten-time X Games medalist Henrik Harlaut is an innovative jumper with an irrepressible personality. The Swede has the most X Games Ski Big Air gold medals in history and the most gold of any male skier in a single discipline. Stylish off the snow, too, his likeable demeanor, high energy and fun-loving attitude have made him popular among all skiers.

• Jamie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, California) – The most decorated rider in X Games Slopestyle history, Jamie owns 15 medals, including five gold. She won slopestyle’s Olympic debut in 2014 and defended her title in 2018, and has never missed the podium when competing in X Games Slopestyle. In addition to winning Slopestyle last year, Anderson also added a bronze in Big Air to her collection at X Games Aspen 2018. With her authoritative and stylish riding, Anderson’s results demonstrate her unparalleled consistency.

• Kelly Sildaru (Tallinn, Estonia) – Hailing from a land with no real mountains, Sildaru is already a skiing phenom. At X Games Aspen 2016 Sildaru became the youngest X Games gold medalist ever at a winter event, taking gold in Ski Slopestyle at just 13-years-old. She returned in 2017 to defend her title in Slopestyle and take a silver medal in Big Air at X Games Norway, before a knee injury took her out of competition leading into the Olympic season in 2018.

• Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Montana) – Defending Ski Slopestyle gold medalist Maggie Voisin burst onto the scene when she took a surprise Slopestyle silver back at X Games Aspen 2014. She earned her next medal at X Games Norway 2017 with a silver. Voisin narrowly missed the Olympic podium in Pyeongchang, taking home fourth, and remains the only American to medal in women’s Ski Big Air.

• 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. Kleveland returned in 2018 to take gold in Slopestyle and silver in Big Air once more, along with a silver in Big Air at X Games Norway 2018.

• Rob Adelberg (Benalla, Victoria, Australia) – Seven-time summer X Games medalist Rob Adelberg added to his collection last year when he took home the first-ever X Games Aspen Snow Bike Best Trick gold medal. Adelberg had never ridden a snow bike on actual snow prior to January 2018, but has years of top-level freestyle motocross experience and most recently took home gold in Moto X Best Trick and bronze in Moto X Freestyle at the inaugural X Games Sydney in October 2018.