 Palmer back in action at Winter X
by David Boroff, ESPN.com
MOUNT SNOW, Vt. -- A legend and a newcomer each took center stage during the Skier X finals at the fourth Winter X Games on Thursday.
|  | | The Palm is back at Winter X. |
Shaun Palmer raced to victory in the men's final, the fifth Winter X Games gold medal of his illustrious career. Anik Demers, an X Games rookie, captured her first gold medal in an exciting finish that went down to the wire.
On an afternoon that alternated between chilly and comfortable temperatures, the men and women came down Exhibition Run in groups of six to determine the six finalists in each event.
In the women's final heat, Demers trailed leader Chiara Lawrence for much of the race. Demers, who is from Quebec, used the final jump of the course to gain momentum to pass Lawrence. Demers passed Lawrence just yards before the finish line and won the final heat by a hair with a time of 49.200 seconds.
"I've been really strong in the bottom jumps all week," said Demers. "It happened so fast. The last jump made it happen."
The victory was even sweeter for Demers considering she dislocated her kneecap two weeks ago in Squaw Valley. She skipped the Gravity Games, and stayed away from competitive skiing until Wednesday's Skier X qualifying, when she finished fourth.
"I started skiing yesterday (Wednesday) and I felt really strong," she said. "(The qualifying) gave me confidence. My physical therapist and I worked so hard."
Palmer dominated all three of his heats on Thursday. In the final round, Palmer took the lead early and was never really threatened, completing the course in 44.439 seconds. Bill Hudson captured the silver medal, and Zack Crist took the bronze. Palmer's road to victory got a little smoother when Hudson and Shane McConkey (fifth) got tangled up trying to catch the leader during the race.
Patti Sherman-Kauf, who won the bronze in this event last year, finished third again this year in the women's race. Defending champion Aleisha Cline finished sixth after crashing in the finals.
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Skier X Men finals
|
| Finish |
Athlete |
| 1st |
Shaun Palmer (winning time of 44.439 seconds) |
| 2nd |
Bill Hudson |
| 3rd |
Zack Crist |
| 4th |
Richard Gay |
| 5th |
Shane McConkey |
| 6th |
Isidor Gruner |
| 7th |
Jeremy Nobis |
| 8th |
Eric Archer |
| 9th |
Chris Davenport |
| 10th |
Tomas Andersson |
| 11th |
Stephane Tchiknavorian |
| 12th |
Mike Dill |
| 13th |
Janez Demsar |
| 14th |
Emil Englund |
| 15th |
Sverre Liliequist |
| 16th |
Peter Lind |
| 17th |
Eric Andersson |
| 18th |
Enak Gavaggio |
| 19th |
Kaj Zackrisson |
| 20th |
Todd Kelly |
| 21st |
Lois Koidl |
| 22nd |
Matt Murphy |
| 23rd |
Josh Loubek |
| 24th |
Tyler Williams |
|
Skier X Women finals
|
| Finish |
Athlete |
| 1st |
Anik Demers (winning time of 49.200 seconds) |
| 2nd |
Chiara Lawrence |
| 3rd |
Patti Sherman-Kauf |
| 4th |
Noel Lyons |
| 5th |
Carolyn Skyer |
| 6th |
Aleisha Cline |
| 7th |
Asia Jenkins |
| 8th |
Missy Giove |
| 9th |
Steph Turner |
| 10th |
Kat Sweet |
| 11th |
Gale Dahlager |
| 12th |
Dawn McShinsky |
|
