My first X Games. What can you say? I made it to X Games, and I don’t know how you guys all feel, but for me I felt like that was something I have been dreaming of my whole life. Coming into X Games as a rookie, nobody expected much of me. The first two training days went okay. I tried some different lines in the course, but they didn’t work as well as they could have. Coming into the qualifying day, I was not feeling that good yet.

Qualifying Day: Daron Rahlves started in front of me. And he looked really good on the top of the course. I knew when I crossed the finish line, I would be able to know how I did. My run felt okay, nothing to write home about. I skidded to a stop in the finish line, and looked up at the scoreboard, and it felt like an eternity for my time to pop up. When it came, I was in first. I sighed a big sigh of relief. I had just qualified for my first X Games, and I didn’t just qualify: I was able to qualify first. So, the following day we had off, and it was really nice. I was able to rest my shins which were quite sore. And I had to listen to everybody tell me how I just beat Daron Rahlves the day before.

Race Day: Sunday, Final day of X Games. Since I was the number one qualifier, I had the first heat of the day. I don’t know if you guys have ever dealt with live TV, but it’s kind of weird. We don’t get to start our race until the TV is ready to go. So we are all standing in the start gate, and they are counting down for the live TV broadcast to start. And all of a sudden you hear Sal Masakela talking about the fourth day at X-Games and “welcome to skiercross”, and next thing I know, we are going racing.

The first heat went fairly well. I was able to get second, which advanced me into the semi-finals. Coming into the semi-finals, I had never made a final before in skiercross, and I knew that this was the place that I had to do it. When I slid into the start gate, I looked to my side and saw Daron Rahlves and a stacked gate of the world’s best skiers. I knew that it was now or never. I don’t know, there’s just those moments in time when everything just kind of slows down. And that was one of those moments. And then we were off and racing.

I got off to a pretty good start. I was in third place, which is a qualifying position for the finals. Coming into the third straightaway, I had been really fast down that straightaway all week, and I knew third place was not going to guarantee me a trip to the finals. With so many fast skiers in that heat, I had to get a little breathing room. And I was able to go around two skiers in front of me which moved me into first place. And I was able to stay there until the finish.

Then we skidded to a stop in the finish, and that was probably one of the happier times of my life. I had just beaten Daron Rahlves. And then it was off to the finals. At the finals, I didn’t get that great of a start. The race kind of seemed like it was over before it began. I ended up fifth place, and that was how the X Games ended for my first trip there.

I just want to thank all of you guys that believed in me, especially Porters taking a stab in the dark for someone who hasn’t really done anything yet. I just want to say thanks to everyone, and KEEP YOUR SKIS POINTED DOWNHILL. That’s when you know you’re going fast.

Errol Out

Labels: Daron Rahlves, Errol Kerr, skiercross, Winter X Games

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