The first gold medal won in Sochi went to American Sage Kotsenburg in the slopestyle event.
According to USA Today Sports, the snowboarder won by trying a trick he had never attempted before. The trick he called "Back 16 Japan," consisted of four and a half backwards spins while he grabbed the backside of his board.
"I ended up landing it, and winning with it," the 20-year-old said, laughing. "I can't even describe the feeling. It's so cool."
TheAssociated Press noted that Kotsenburg won with a score of 93.50, which he recorded in his first run. It held up over the next 30 minutes.
The slopestyle competition is a new event that debuted at this year's Olympic Games. It is one of the most popular sports at the Winter X Games.
The slopestyle course at Extreme Park had been called “intimidating” by fellow snowboarding star Shaun White. White jammed his wrist on the menacing course and then withdrew from the competition to concentrate on winning a third gold medal in the halfpipe competition.
After Kotsenburg braved the course to a victory, White congratulated his USA teammate on Twitter.