[by Matt Houghton]

Eight riders entered the Buttermilk halfpipe tonight for the Winter X Games Superpipe; theoretically any of them could win. Theoretically. But sometimes fate can be a bitch, and there's nothing you can do to defeat her. Such was the case this evening when the typically unbeatable Shaun White – who's so iconic that ESPN commentators dedicate time to analyzing his pants – was poised to make X Games history by winning his fifth gold medal in a row.

Ryo Aono in the elimination round.

Of course none of the riders were going to go quietly. Each of them had three runs to make their mark, with the top score determining their final ranking. The first runs revealed just how much pressure they were feeling, with almost half the field falling during their runs (namely Christian Haller, Jack Mitrani and Ryo Aono). Louie Vito stepped up quickly, linking four double-corks in a row, but didn't have enough space or time for any other tricks, resulting in relatively low score of 70. Greg Bretz landed a clean run, with a double cork and solid flat spins. Iouri "iPod" Podladtchikov laid down a picture-perfect run, with a double McTwist 1260 to back-to-back double cork 1080s. He posted a 90, which no one came close to until White dropped in.

Louie Vito in the elimination round.

White's first run was essentially his winning run from the Vancouver Olympics, which he repeated at last year's X Games for the gold medal: an 18-foot Method to two double corks, to his bad-ass frontside five, to the double McTwist, to one more massive straight air. This earned him a 94, and applied immediate pressure to iPod and the other competitors. If you wanted to win, you'd have to somehow one-up that run.

iPod.

The second runs began, with Haller landing a clean run (including a double cork and seriously smooth rotations) to score a well-earned 86 for the bronze medal position. Vito dropped next, but fell. Bretz also fell, Ladley washed out, and Mitrani sat on a landing. Ipod changed his run slightly and upped his score to 92, which kept him in the silver medal position, but wouldn't put him past White. White dropped next and repeated the same run with equal amplitude, but threw in an outrageous frontside double cork 1260 on his last hit, serving up four double corks in one run (plus his massive Method and frontside five). But he didn't quite land the extra trick, leaving his first run as the gold medal score to beat.

Bang. Matt Ladley out of the cannon.

The third runs kicked off and the unfortunate falls continued. Haller went down, jeopardizing his third place position. Vito fell again, and Bretz nailed the deck in a terrifying fashion on his first hit (thankfully he bounced back and appeared to be unhurt). Ladley also hit the deck on a double cork, and Mitrani fell on a double. Ipod replicated his second run with a touch more amplitude, earning an additional point for a score of 93. Ryo Aono pulled it together for a clean run, doing the slowest rotatating double cork of the night. He scored an 86, bumping Haller out of a medal. That resulted in White locking down the gold medal position before taking his third run, solidifying his place in the X Games history books with a legitimate "five-peat" in the halfpipe (not that he wouldn't already have an entire chapter dedicated to him... and his pants).

You already know who this is. Just in case: Shaun White.

Historically, when White's got a contest won with a run to spare, he does a true victory lap-blasting huge straight airs and a mellow (but massive) rotation or two, with perhaps a hand-dragging wall slash at the end. So what would he do tonight? Apparently missing that fourth double cork irked him into action, so he dropped in with fury, attacking his normal run with even more speed. He worked his way through his usual tricks, but this time the fourth double cork (a frontside 1260, no less) was stomped and White did his best halfpipe run ever. The judges took notice and issued him a perfect score of 100.

If there was a more dramatic way to close out the X Games, I can't imagine it. On top of White's epic performance, pro snowmobiler Heath Frisby landed a front flip (yes: a front flip) in the Snowmobile Big Air contest. If that wasn't enough to entertain the television masses, ESPN had better bring in shark tanks and lion pits next year.

Check back for our exclusive interview with two-time gold medal winner Mark McMorris.

All photos: Matt Forsythe

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