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Nine rising stars
Brita Sigourney
Like most young freeskiiers, Sigourney was in awe of Sarah Burke. "I was amazed to be in the same halfpipe," she says, remembering the first time she faced her idol. But after winning the world juniors in 2010, Sigourney found herself competing alongside Burke a lot, even finishing second to the star at the 2011 X Games. At this year's X, the 22-year-old Sigourney became the first woman to land a 1080 in competition. Sadly, Burke wasn't there to see it, having died from injuries sustained in a January training accident. Sigourney had once fractured her pelvis attempting the trick. "Sarah never settled for the easy run," she says. "She kept pushing. She pushed all of us." Although Sigourney recently suffered a torn ACL, she is already eyeing the 2014 Winter Olympics, where -- thanks to Burke's lobbying -- freeskiing will be a medal sport for the first time.
