Shaun White, Gretchen Bleiler, Ross Powers, Casey Puckett Among the Elite Line Up; ESPN to Provide 24 ½ Hours of Coverage

Winter X Games 14, to be held January 28-31 in Aspen/Snowmass, Colo., will welcome 250 world-class athletes, including 39 past and present Olympians. Less than one month before many of the athletes compete in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, they will vie for gold at the Winter X Games in Men’s and Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe, Men’s and Women’s Snowboarder X, Men’s & Women’s Skier X and Men’s and Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle.

While athletes are still being named to the Vancouver team, several athletes who will compete at this year’s Winter X Games have competed in previous Olympics dating back to the 1992 Games in Albertville, Canada. Skier Casey Puckett made his Olympic debut in 1992 and went on to compete in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 Olympics.  Aspenite, Gretchen Bleiler, who made her Olympic debut in 2006 winning a silver medal in Snowboard SuperPipe, returns to Aspen to try for her fourth gold medal.

“This is an incredibly exciting time, and I’m looking forward to a great Winter X Games on my way to the Olympics in Vancouver,” said Bleiler. “These are my two favorite events and together they are bringing amazing, positive exposure to the sport of snowboarding.”

For the complete, updated list of Winter X Games 14 athletes, log on to www.xgames.com.

*PLEASE NOTE: The invited athlete list is constantly being updated and is subject to change. 

Among the Olympic athletes expected to compete:

• Gretchen Bleiler: Three-time Winter X Games Snowboard SuperPipe gold medalist and 2006 Winter Olympic silver medalist
• Kelly Clark: Two-time Winter X Games Snowboard SuperPipe gold medalist and 2002 Winter Olympic gold medalist
• Lindsey Jacobellis: Five-time Winter X Games Snowboarder X gold medalist and 2006 Winter Olympic silver medalist
• Ross Powers: Winter X Games Snowboard Slopestyle and Half Pipe gold medalist; 1998 Winter Olympic bronze medalist and 2002 Winter Olympic gold medalist
• Casey Puckett: Two-time Winter X Games Skier X gold medalist
• Daron Rahlves: Winter X Games 12 Skier X gold medalist and widely considered as the most accomplished speed skier in American history with 28 World Cup podiums and three World Championship podiums over the course of the last decade
• Seth Wescott: Six-time Winter X Games Snowboarder X medalist and defending 2006 Winter Olympics gold medalist
• Shaun White: Nine-time Winter X Games gold medalist and defending Winter X Games Snowboard SuperPipe and 2006 Winter Olympic gold medalist

ESPN and ESPN2 will televise 24.5 hours of live high-definition action Jan. 28 – 31. ESPN2 will present daily late-night highlight programs in HD all four days, resulting in eight additional hours of programming. Additionally, the Winter X Games will also be televised on ESPN’s International networks to 172 countries and territories in Latin America, the Pacific Rim, Middle East, Africa, Israel and Canada.

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