In January, Swedish freeskier Henrik Harlaut, 21, won his first X Games gold medal in Ski Big Air. The following day, he won a silver medal in Ski Slopestyle. Next week in France, Harlaut will compete in Ski Slopestyle at X Games Tignes.
In January, Harlaut won X Games Big Air with a trick that had never been done before, a nose butter triple cork 1620, which earned him a perfect score of 50.
"I had that trick in my mind for the past month but wasn't really planning on trying it unless I had to," Harlaut said after winning. In the end, he didn't even need the triple to secure his first-place position.
The day after his Big Air win, Harlaut returned to earned a silver medal in Ski Slopestyle at X Games Aspen. "I wasn't expecting anything in slopestyle," he says. "I just wanted to make it to finals. It was a full-on bonus."
Instead of preparing for X Games like most of his peers, Harlaut spent 66 days this winter traveling around small ski areas in the Midwest, Northeast, and Canada as part of the Inspired Demo Tour.
On the Inspired Demo Tour, Harlaut, as well as pro skiers Paul Burgeron and Phil Casabon, met and skied with kids from Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Ohio, and elsewhere.
Here's Harlaut at Hyland Hills, a small ski area in Bloomington, Minn. "It's nice to not be in the environment of filming or competing. We have the time. We are doing this for the kids and the industry," says Harlaut.
Harlaut was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and moved to the ski town of Åre, Sweden, at age 10, when he was first introduced to freeskiing. He was winning contests by age 14.
"Henrik likes to do things his way," says his father and manager, Erik Harlaut. "He often has a plan and sense for what he needs to improve on. He trains for things without looking at what the others are doing, but his structure is clear."
On heading into X Games Tignes, Harlaut says, "I feel so stoked from what I have done this year. People can think what they want to think but I am not going to have more pressure on myself."
Stay tuned for Harlaut's appearance in Ski Slopestyle at X Games Tignes, coming up March 20 through 22 in Tignes, France.
The athletes, events and venues from the X Games in Barcelona all captured on the new Samsung Galaxy S4.
Wander through the streets of Barcelona through the lens of X Games skateboard judge Neal Hendrix
Go behind the scenes with Nyjah Huston's shoot for ESPN The Magazine in Barcelona, Spain
View the gallery again.
i
In January, Swedish freeskier Henrik Harlaut, 21, won his first X Games gold medal in Ski Big Air. The following day, he won a silver medal in Ski Slopestyle. Next week in France, Harlaut will compete in Ski Slopestyle at X Games Tignes.
In January, Harlaut won X Games Big Air with a trick that had never been done before, a nose butter triple cork 1620, which earned him a perfect score of 50.
"I had that trick in my mind for the past month but wasn't really planning on trying it unless I had to," Harlaut said after winning. In the end, he didn't even need the triple to secure his first-place position.
The day after his Big Air win, Harlaut returned to earned a silver medal in Ski Slopestyle at X Games Aspen. "I wasn't expecting anything in slopestyle," he says. "I just wanted to make it to finals. It was a full-on bonus."
Instead of preparing for X Games like most of his peers, Harlaut spent 66 days this winter traveling around small ski areas in the Midwest, Northeast, and Canada as part of the Inspired Demo Tour.
On the Inspired Demo Tour, Harlaut, as well as pro skiers Paul Burgeron and Phil Casabon, met and skied with kids from Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Ohio, and elsewhere.
Here's Harlaut at Hyland Hills, a small ski area in Bloomington, Minn. "It's nice to not be in the environment of filming or competing. We have the time. We are doing this for the kids and the industry," says Harlaut.
Harlaut was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and moved to the ski town of Åre, Sweden, at age 10, when he was first introduced to freeskiing. He was winning contests by age 14.
"Henrik likes to do things his way," says his father and manager, Erik Harlaut. "He often has a plan and sense for what he needs to improve on. He trains for things without looking at what the others are doing, but his structure is clear."
On heading into X Games Tignes, Harlaut says, "I feel so stoked from what I have done this year. People can think what they want to think but I am not going to have more pressure on myself."
Stay tuned for Harlaut's appearance in Ski Slopestyle at X Games Tignes, coming up March 20 through 22 in Tignes, France.
