Extreme Exposure: Anderson's two world titles, Shiffrin wins again, more
In this week's edition of Extreme Exposure—a weekly column featuring news and photography from the world of action and outdoor sports—Ryan Dungey wins Detroit event but is penalized two spots, Mikaela Shiffrin gets her 5th slalom win and more.
Breakable but Unbeatable
Due to a year shortened by injury, Mikaela Shiffrin entered five slalom races on the World Cup circuit this season. And didn’t lose a single one. In St. Moritz this weekend, the 21-year-old completed a fantastic year (other than one training mishap that forced her to miss 5 races) by beating her closest competitor by 2 seconds. She’s the first woman to win more than three races in a season and not win a crystal globe. That honor went to Frida Hansdotter this year while Shiffrin did her best not to ponder what could have been her fourth straight overall slalom title. "I try not to say 'what if' too much because maybe in a parallel universe, maybe I won a fourth globe," Shiffrin humbly told the Associated Press. "But we're living in this world and Frida won and I think she really deserves it. Maybe if I didn't get injured, I would have struggled with my speed or something. It happened the way it did and I'm happy."
#https://instagram.com/p/BDMPbViIJG5/
Winning, Not Winning
Speaking of what might have been, during the Monster Energy Supercross Series this weekend in Detroit, Ryan Dungey raced well enough to take the checkered flag but was penalized two spots for an in-race infraction, bumping him two spots down to third but leaving intact his consecutive podium streak, which now stands at 27 straight races.
On Lap No. 7, Dungey, who extended his overall points lead in the 450SX class to 39, came across a downed rider on the track with the red cross flag flying, which requires riders not to air off any of the features and instead roll through jumps until the incident is cleared. Dungey failed to do so. Meanwhile, Jason Anderson was able to capture his second Supercross win in front of an estimated 46,000 fans at Ford Field. In the 250SX Class, Malcolm Stewart nabbed the win and now holds a slim seven-point overall lead in the series.
I’ll Take Two
Jamie Anderson capped her 2016 season with two world titles at the World Championships of Snowboarding in Yabuli, China last week, winning Slopestyle and Big Air. While the Halfpipe event was canceled due to dangerous conditions caused by warm weather, Brandon Davis also took home a world title for the Americans, winning the Slopestyle event on the men’s side.
Anderson, who rides out of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., put an exclamation point on an already-stellar season. She won silver in Slopestyle at X Games Aspen and captured the U.S. Open title in Slopestyle as well.
The Strange Case of Surfer Darryl Fornatora
In late January, Darryl Fornatora of Palm Beach County, Florida was in Cabarete, Dominican Republic on a surf trip when he vanished without a trace. Authorities have been unable to locate the 46-year-old tennis pro and there had been few clues as to his fate. Until this week, when his wallet was found by a local driver containing his credit cards, driver’s license and hundreds of dollars in cash with burn marks. The Fornatora family last heard from their son on Jan. 25 when he went surfing and then checked in with his mother. A Facebook page has been activated to try and find answers to the missing waterman’s whereabouts.
Fornatora was accompanied on the surf trip by his friend, Matt Rigby, and Fornatora’s family says Rigby’s story has changed several times. The duo was supposed to fly home together Jan. 31, but Rigby cut his trip short and came home on the 28th. First Rigby claimed there was no surf and he decided to go home while Fornatora stayed behind. Then he claimed that Fornatora became infuriated one night while they were walking into town and when he looked back, the man was gone. Dominican National Police are heading up the investigation and checking in with the U.S. embassy. The family is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to Fornatora’s whereabouts.
#https://instagram.com/p/BBOgI4Fyo1H/
