X GAMES:

Canada's Turski, Burke nab gold in X Games

Jan. 27, 2011

ASPEN, Colo. ― Canada's Kaya Turski successfully defended her Winter X Games slopestyle skiing title Thursday while fellow Canadian Sarah Burke added to her medal collection with a gold in ski superpipe.

Turski, from Montreal, set the pace with a first-run score of 93.66 in the trick-based skiing event. That score stood up through the next two rounds, giving her a second consecutive gold medal.

"I feel elated right now," Turski said of her back-to-back wins. "I put a lot of pressure on myself. The level of competition here is so high, all the girls killed it. I luckily had a good first run, a great cab 7 and nailed the cannon. That really eased the pressure."

Keri Herman of the U.S. was second with a score of 93.33, while fellow American Grete Eliassen was third with 93.00.

Kim Lamarre of Lac-Beauport, Que., was fifth with a score of 91.33, followed by Jessica Warll of Collingwood, Ont., in sixth (90.66) and Montreal's Maude Raymond in ninth (75.00).

The event uses the same course as snowboarders. Skiers perform tricks on rails, jumps and other obstacles to build up their score.

Skiers are judged on creativity, trick completion and style.

Later on Thursday, Burke scored 91.33 in her second run of the women's ski superpipe, and that score held up as the winner.

The native of Whistler, B.C., who took the sixth and final qualifying spot in Wednesday's elimination run, earned her fourth Winer X Games superpipe gold. She has also won two silver in her career.

American Brita Sigourney scored 86.00 to take silver, while Calgary's Roz Groenewoud won bronze with a score of 84.00.

In men's superpipe, Justin Dorey of Vernon, B.C., advanced to the final, finishing fourth in the elimination run. S-Magazine