ASPEN, CO (Jan. 24) - U.S. Snowboarding's Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, CA) made history Saturday, becoming the first man to four-peat an X Games snowboardcross gold medal. Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) joined Holland, repeating her win. It was the fifth X Games gold for both.


Nate Holland celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the men's
snowboardcross at Winter X Games 13 in Aspen, Colorado. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

"First and foremost, I am totally stoked, totally exhillirated, and so proud of myself that I was able to pull it off again," Holland said. "As far as the streak goes, I don't know, I am kind of at a loss of words. I go into it just like any other race and I have success here. It's not like I do anything special here that I don't try and do at any other race.

"I'm just delighted, honestly, that I was able to pull it off again."

Holland's journey to the gold wasn't exactly smooth sailing - the champion was almost caught in a tangle during his semi-final round that would have taken him out of the running.

"It was a super long course, my legs were burning and the semi final round was really hard. I almost went down a couple times and I finished third," Holland said. "I made a lot of mistakes. I told myself after getting third 'you just have one more race, one more heat and this is where you lay it all on the line.'"

In the final heat Holland let the crowd sweat it out again as he hung behind in third until his final turn allowed him an inside line to the lead.

"I knew I had to get up in that mix with those two guys, let them know I was there and have them start thinking about me rather than me thinking about how to get around them. By then I was riding on straight adrenaline and nerves," Holland said. "I knew I could take an inside line on the turn. I went down the five pack of rollers, pumped them for all I was worth and made the pass."

After all the hard work, Holland was relieved the moment he knew he had locked down the win.

"Two jumps later, I'm going into the last jump and I don't hear anyone around and I'm like, 'OMG I have this one in the bag again,' and flew the last jump, stuck it, saw the finish line threw my hands up and then let the whirlwind begin," Holland said.

Graham Watanabe (Sun Valley, ID) also had a first, marking his premiere on an X Games podium with a silver medal.

"I am so psyched. I feel like I got a little redemption from the last couple races and last year's X Games. I am really excited right now and I am so happy for Nate. He definitely rode solid and proved that he deserved it," Watanabe said. "Everyone has been riding so insanely well and it's cool to keep the ball rolling."


Nate Holland (C) takes the podium to collect his fourth
consecutive gold medal in the men's snowboardcross 
with Graham Watanabe (L) in second place and Stian
Sivertzen (R) in third place. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Never one to disappoint with her ability to crush each competition she comes across, Jacobellis is happy having another X Games gold medal under her belt.

"It feels really good. X Games is always pretty stressful on me because I expect a lot from myself, and just to have the race over with feels so great, but to come across the finish line first is a great relief and a great reward," Jacobellis said.

Jacobellis was riding in a league of her own as she led each of the women's heats by large margins.

"I was really happy with the way I was riding. The course was very difficult because of all the new snow that had fallen. It was slow and hard to clear features," Jacobellis said. "But, I was still able to get over the first triple and that is what I think helped establish my lead."

To top it off, Jacobellis was amped to be able to compete in front of an audience that doesn't normally get to see her ride.

"This one just feels great, especially because everyone is watching in the U.S. All the friends and family who are watching are stoked because they can't always watch the World Cup," Jacobellis said. "The World Cup circuit is very important for me, but X Games is icing on the cake."


Lindsey Jacobellis shows off her gold medal in the women's
snowboardcross at Winter X Games 13 (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The SBX crew now heads to Boreal Resort in the Tahoe region of California to compete in the Visa Snowboardcross Championship series at the second stop of the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix on Feb. 1.

As for the X Games, it concludes Sunday with the men's halfpipe finals.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 WINTER X GAMES
Aspen, CO - Jan. 24, 2009
Snowboardcross

Men
1. Nate Holland, Squaw Valley, CA
2. Graham Watanabe, Sun Valley, ID
3. Stian Sivertzen, Norway
4. David Speiser, Germany
5. Nick Baumgartner, Iron River, MI
-
6. Jonathan Cheever, Saugus, MA

Women
1. Lindsey Jacobellis, Stratton Mountain, VT
2. Helene Olafsen, Norway
3. Sandra Frei, Switzerland
4. Maelle Ricker, Canada
5. Olivia Nobs, Switzerland
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