ASPEN, Colo. – Estonia’s highest hill is about 300 meters above sea level, Kelly Sildaru estimates. It’s part of why the 13-year-old freeskier trains in her home country only about 10 days a year.
“It’s hard because we don’t have mountains,” Sildaru said.
But it certainly didn’t prevent her from making X Games history. Sildaru became the youngest winter X Games gold medalist when she won the women’s ski slopestyle competition here at Buttermilk Mountain on Friday.
Sildaru landed a first run with technical riding on the rails, amplitude off the jumps and two 900s. It gave her the second win of her young career as she won the slopestyle contest at the Dew Tour in December.