Scotty James Wins 5th Straight X Games Gold in Aspen

Australian snowboarder Scotty James just pulled off something nobody has ever seen on a halfpipe, winning his fifth straight Winter X Games title in Aspen, Colorado this weekend. The 31-year-old landed back-to-back backside 1440s (two full spins while facing backward down the hill, one forward and one switch) to secure the victory and tie snowboarding legend Shaun White with eight career X Games gold medals.

James scored a commanding 95 points, easily beating Japan's Haku Shimasaki for second place. Despite briefly touching the snow with his hand to stay upright after the second jump, judges recognized the historic difficulty of the combination.

"I wanted to do something for myself and for halfpipe and to push backside riding as much as I can," James said after celebrating by crowd surfing into hundreds of cheering fans while wearing his trademark red boxing gloves. "I wanted to come out and do the first back-to-back backside 14s, and I'm pumped."

The victory comes at the perfect moment. With the Milan Cortina Olympics just weeks away, James looks like the athlete to beat after winning last week's Laax Open in Switzerland.

His path to Olympic gold got clearer when defending champion Ayumu Hirano suffered a serious fall at that same Swiss event, breaking bones in his face and throwing his Olympic status into question. James already has Olympic silver and bronze medals, but in a documentary released this winter, he made clear that gold is the one prize missing from his otherwise stellar career.

Why This Inspires

James didn't just win. He innovated. The Australian has shown he's willing to push boundaries the same way his heroes did, from slopestyle legend Mark McMorris to 2014 halfpipe champion Iouri Podladtchikov and White himself.

"I get a chip on my shoulder every year, thinking maybe I wouldn't be expected to show up and try again and win again," James explained. "I managed to do that today, and I'm speechless, honestly."

Five straight titles. Eight career golds. One historic trick combination. And possibly, just weeks from now in Italy, the Olympic gold medal that would complete one of snowboarding's greatest careers.