The Gold Medal that Sage won at the start of 2014 in the Sochi Olympics is undeniably the highlight of the Sage Kotsenburg bio to date. But what that achievement doesn’t tell us about his career is the consistent results he has been getting on the World Snowboard Tour for several years now.
Still only 21 he has been around for what seems like an age. And when you look at riders like Shaun White still competing and winning competitions at age 28 there is no doubt that Mr Kotsenburg has much more to achieve in this sport.
| QUICK FACTS |
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| Age: 21 Stance: Goofy Nationality: USA Height: 5’ 9” Disciplines: Freestyle (Slopestyle & Big Air) Resides: Park City, USA |
Achievements so far
Sochi Gold aside, Sage has been amongst the top snowboarding athletes in Slopestyle and Big Air for several years. In fact, he has been competing on the World Snowboard Tour since 2006, when he was just a 12 year old!
He may have finished in 102nd in his debut event, the March 2006 US Open, but this was a definite sign of things to come.
But back to that Gold Medal. Not only did he become the first Gold medal winner in the Slopestyle (2014 was the first time this event was run at the Olympics), he did it by landing a trick that he had never landed before! – and what trick that was – the ‘1620 Holy Crail’ – or more officially the ‘1620 Japan Air Mute Grab’.
| OLYMPIC GAMES & FIS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | |||
| Olympics | World Champs (SS) | World Champs (BA) | |
| 2013 | N/A | DNS | 20th |
| 2014 | GOLD (SS) | N/A | N/A |
Surprisingly he has yet to take out a World Snowboard tour title in either Slopestyle or Big Air (his two specialist disciplines) but his most recent results are promising and I suspect he isn’t far from getting there. 2014 saw him finish 3rd in the Big Air and 15th Overall.
| WORLD SNOWBOARD TOUR RANKINGS | ||||
| Overall | Slopestyle (SS) | Big Air (BA) | Half Pipe | |
| 2006 | 1223rd | – | – | – |
| 2007 | 1290th | – | – | – |
| 2008 | 100th | – | – | – |
| 2009 | 28th | – | – | – |
| 2010 | 37th | – | – | – |
| 2011 | 40th | – | – | – |
| 2012 | 25th | 21st | 12th | – |
| 2013 | 23rd | 10th | 25th | – |
| 2014 | 15th | 22nd | 3rd | – |
He also ended 2014 sitting in 4th on the FIS points list and seems to certainly be on the rise and perhaps more importantly seems to be loving his sport.
True Ambassador and Sheer Lover of the Sport
Kotseburg’s enthusiasm for the sport is contagious and as I write this (Late October 2014) I am inspired to get on the mountain and learn some new things in the park – if only the snow would arrive in Vancouver!
His passion is certainly showing in his results and the future holds great things for this athlete if he keeps up his enthusiasm and focus.
Other Bragging Rights
Sage was the first to land the Cab Double Cork 1440 – which he achieved in 2011 at the Billabong Air & Style event.
He has also been solid in the Winter X games, though yet to pick up a Gold just yet.
| Year | Aspen (Slopestyle) | Aspen (Big Air) | Tignes (Slopestyle) |
| 2010 | 5TH | 6TH | SILVER |
| 2011 | dns | BRONZE | 16TH |
| 2012 | SILVER | 10TH | 12TH |
| 2013 | 13TH | dns | 5TH |
| 2014 | 15TH | 8TH | cancelled |
| 2015 | 5TH | 7TH | – |
Other Achievements
Sage was recently (July 16 2014) awarded the EPSY Award (ESPNs Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) for Best Male Olympian.
Recent Events
Sage’s most recent major event was the 2015 Winter X Games where he competed in the Slopestyle and the Big Air, finishing 5th and 7th respectively. Not his best results. He hasn’t quite reached the heights that everyone knows he is capable of since the 2014 Olympics.
Sage didn’t compete in the recent 2015 Burton US Open held in March. According to his facebook page he was hanging out in Russia at the time!
Anything I’ve missed? Any comments or feedback welcomed below.
