Shaun White among athletes invited to X Games

(Photo: Nathan Bilow-USA TODAY Sports)Shaun White, Chloe Kim and Gus Kenworthy are among the top snowboarders and freeskiers invited to compete in the X Games in January.

ESPN, which owns the event, on Wednesday released a list of invited athletes which includes all medalists from the 2016 X Games in returning disciplines.

Aside from Kim — a 16-year-old phenom who won her second consecutive X Games snowboard halfpipe gold — the list of invitees includes skier Kenworthy, a Sochi silver medalist and double X medalist in 2016; American Maddie Bowman, who has X Games and Olympic golds in freeski superpipe; Estonian Kelly Sildaru, who claimed the freeski slopestyle event at 13 years old; and…