James Woods laid down an impressive run as he continues his preparations for Pyeongchang 2018 but narrowly missed out on a medal in the men’s ski slopestyle final at the X Games Aspen 2018.
Woods was this week named among Team GB’s largest ever delegation for an Olympic Winter Games and was hoping to celebrate by finding success in Colorado.
The 26-year-old, who came fifth in the men’s ski slopestyle competition at Sochi 2014, qualified for the final with the second-best total, behind only Gus Kenworthy.
His best run in the final on Sunday was his second of three and it scored a healthy 91.33, yet he missed out on securing bronze by 0.67 points.
Sweden’s Henrik Harlaut took gold after his first run totalled 93.00, while Norway’s Oystein Braaten collected silver to make it a Scandinavian one-two and Andri Ragettli overhauled Woods for third with his very final run – scoring 92.00.
The Winter X Games sees the best freestyle skiers, snowboarders, snowmobiles and snow bikers come together across four days of competitions mixed in with a music and festival experience.
And Woods did leave Aspen with a medal after claiming bronze in the non-Olympic discipline of big air.
Gold and silver went the same way as they did in the slopestyle final, with Harlaut reigning supreme ahead of Braaten, but the Brit’s combined total of 82.00 was enough to earn him a place on the podium ahead of Swiss skier Fabian Boesch.
Sportsbeat 2018 Photo credit: Tommy Pyatt