High water meant big air for the riders in downtown Vail, Colorado, at this weekend's , according to . Where organizerspreviously had to dial in an adjustable inflatable barrier to funnel flow, this time there was almost too much of a goodthing. The rapids knocked world freestyle kayak championNick Troutman out of the final bracket, while Dustin Urban, a big airmaestro from Buena Vista, Colorado, used its power to out-duel Jason Craig for the top spot with a 590-pointride. Craig took second, and Casper Van Kalmthout of the Netherlands took third.
For the women, current world freestyle kayak champion Emily Jacksontook control of the hole to throw down an impressive final run en routeto a victory over Australia鈥檚 Tanya Faux. Haley Mills from Salida, Colorado, roundedout the women鈥檚 competition with a third-place finish.
Check out a brief overview of the Games in our feature on .
–Stayton Bonner