Sugar Bowling for X
Cody Smith finds redemption at the Jabra X Jam Skier X
In 2004, Cody Smith found himself on the wrong side of the proverbial bubble. With the top four finishers at this last chance qualifier for the Winter X Games earning invitations to Aspen, the Spokane native landed in 5th, and was left watching from home as Casey Puckett—one of the four skiers who beat him—took the gold and the glory.
On Saturday, January 15, Smith finally burst that bubble. Smith showed up at Sugar Bowl, California for the 2005 Jabra X Jam X Qualifier with a mission, and executed it perfectly. Smith, a former Nor Am racer, qualified first on Friday, then won every heat he was in on Saturday, earning first place and one of the final four spots at Winter X IX
"The X Games are awesome, who wouldn't want to go," Smith said. "There weren't the big names that we had last year. Puckett going on to win the X Games, that's obviously a pretty big name."
Norwegian Gro Kvinlog out-classed a sparse women's field. Of the almost 120 racers, only six were female. Kvinlog, a student at Sierra Nevada College, returned her prize money for scholarship reasons, and isn't sure if she'll compete in Aspen.
Other Winter X Games qualifiers from the Jabra X Jam are:
Brian Long, 2nd place men
Rune Neilson, 3rd place men
Calvin Mitchell, 4th place men
Brett Buckles, 2nd place women.
Watch Winter X Games IX on ESPN and ESPN2 January 29-31. Click-in to Powdermag.com for more coverage.