Thirty-four-year-old Daron Rahlves, arguably the most accomplished speed skier in American history, began competing in the Skier X event last year. In fact, his run in today’s Skier X Men’s Final marked only his second ESPN Winter X Games appearance – but he surged to the lead early in the final heat and never looked back. 
“I just wanted it,” Rahlves said afterwards. “Wanted it really bad.” Rahvles, silver medalist Stanley Hayer, and bronze medalist (and Aspen local) Casey Puckett all finished within a second of each other. 
Czech racer Tomas Kraus led early, but fell after Rahlves passed him and took the lead – a lead Rahlves would hold all the way to the finish line. “My start was weak, but I capitalized on the few openings that I had,” Rahlves said. “Key thing was to just not think about the other guys, and ski my race. Our heat was stacked, but you can’t really think about the other guys. You just gotta dig deep and put the hammer down.”  More videos, results, and photos from the Winter X-Games 12 at www.expn.go.com