X Games 2022: Five things to watch out for

One of the biggest extreme sports competitions in the world, the X Games, has been bringing the world of extreme sports to the mainstream since 1995.

The 2022 Winter X Games are set to take place in Aspen, Colorado in the US from Friday to Sunday, with a host of medals up for grabs. Among the athletes participating will be several who will then take part in the Olympics in February.

Here are five reasons why the X Games are worth keeping up with...

It has some unique events that aren't in the Olympics

Snowboarder Marcus Kleveland is one of the people credited with inspiring the Knuckle Huck event

You're unlikely to see Knuckle Hucks at the winter Olympics, that's because it's a uniquely X Games event.

The 'knuckle' of a jump is the curved bit between the flat tabletop section and the steep landing of the jump.

In the Knuckle Huck, a group of snowboarders (Friday) or freestyle skiers (Sunday) have 20 minutes to 'huck' or throw themselves over the 'knuckle'.

Part of the competition is to find a unique and creative way to go over the knuckle.

There's no age limit for competitors

There's no age restriction at the games and Kelly Sildaru won her first medal age 13

At just 18 years old, Kelly Sildaru already has nine X Games medals, five of them gold.

In 2016, she surpassed Chloe Kim as the youngest athlete to win a Winter X Games title at just 13 years old, that's because there's no age restriction to compete.

Another teen to watch is 17-year-old Japanese sensation Murase Kokomo.

There are loads of Winter Olympic champions going for Gold

Jamie Anderson is one of the best competitors around. She's a former Olympic gold medallist and is the most successful snowboarder in X Games history, with 19 medals, eight of which are gold.

She's set to compete in both slopestyle and big air again. Like many of the athletes at the games, Anderson will also be participating in the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

One of her biggest rivals, who is also heading to Beijing is New Zealander and 2018 Olympic bronze medallist Zoi Sadowski-Synnott.

The competitors have really cool names for their moves like "Japan" and "shifty"

Ever heard of a "Japan"? No, us neither. But, by the end of the X Games you'll be all clued up on the coolest slope-slang and terminology. So, get ready for some "Misty Flip's" and some "Lui Kang's" because the commentators don't hold back.

And, in case you were wondering, a "Japan" is where a skier stretches out one of their legs and tucks the other leg behind the front leg. They grab the tucked leg under base of ski. Left hand grabs right ski and right hand grabs left ski. Still with me here?

There's a few British names to look out for...

Brit Zoe Atkin is competing

The X Games are dominated by US and Canadian athletes but three British athletes will be competing, Zoe Atkin, Gus Kenworthy and James Woods. All three are also heading to the Beijing Olympics.

If Zoe's surname sound familiar that's because she's the younger sister of Olympic slopestyle bronze medallist Izzy Atkin.

Both sisters competed in the 2021 X Games, with Izzy winning a silver medal, but younger sister Zoe is now making a name for herself as well.

She won bronze in the halfpipe at the World Championships in Aspen, Colorado, the first major medal of her career. And she will also be competing at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.

Meanwhile Gus Kenworthy, who in 2019 announced he was switching from U.S. to Great Britain, hopes to complete a competition for the first time in a year at the X Games.

In October 2021 he got a bad concussion while training and he's been focussing on his recovery ahead of the games and Beijing.