Crashed Ice winners Cameron Naasz (USA) and Jacqueline Legere (Canada) joined hands during the awards ceremony Saturday night. Naasz and Legere finished first overall in the men’s and women’s division. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
Members of the Red Bull Wings Team anticipate the first race of the night on Saturday. Twenty-two athletes competed in the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
A skater throws his hands up in frustration after a false start Saturday. The Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championships took place at the Cathedral of Saint Paul Feb. 26-27. (Meghan Vosbeek/TommieMedia)
The men’s and women’s trophies stood on the podium throughout Saturday’s races. Lakeville, Minnesota native Naasz finished milliseconds before Canada’s Scott Croxall who placed second. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
A camera scans the crowd before preliminary races Friday afternoon. Red Bull Crashed Ice is an ice cross downhill racing competition that involves slick obstacle courses for international skaters. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
Blue lights illuminate the Cathedral of St. Paul. This year’s Red Bull Crashed Ice brought in the largest on-record crowd ever with more than 100,000 spectators. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
Naasz takes the lead in his heat. The Minnesota native made his Red Bull Crashed Ice debut in St. Paul in 2012. (Meghan Vosbeek/TommieMedia)
All-American team Unrl athlete Daniel Bergeson smiles after crossing the finish line during the team finals. Team Unrl placed second under the Canada-U.S. team Living the Dream, who took first place for the second straight year in a row at St. Paul’s Crashed Ice event. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
Coach Garden Crew athlete Andreas Wirnst looks back at the jumbo screen after crossing the finish line. Coach Garden Crew took third place overall in the team competition Friday evening. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
Fans surround the Crashed Ice course. Medics stood by the track in teethed anti-slip shoes in case of an accident. (Meghan Vosbeek/TommieMedia)
Skaters take on the track. Competitors from around the globe race to advance to the next round. (Meghan Vosbeek/TommieMedia)
A skater takes on a jump. The 360-meter long track dropped 12 stories in front of the Cathedral of Saint Paul. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
St. Paul hosted Red Bull Crashed Ice the last three winters in a row. Naasz became the first American to win the Red Bull Crashed Ice Championship that includes 10 races spanning six countries including Canada, Germany and Finland. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
Legere won the women’s world championship. This season was Legere’s fifth year competing at Red Bull Crashed Ice. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
Racers gather near the finish line after a women’s heat Saturday evening. The top 16 women competed at the Crashed Ice finals on Saturday. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
Crashed Ice winners Cameron Naasz (USA), Scott Croxall (CAN) and Tristan Dugerdil (FRA) celebrate with champagne on the winners’ podium after the final race. Friday and Saturday evening winners popped champagne throughout the awards ceremonies. (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia)
Thousands of people gathered Saturday in front of the Cathedral of St. Paul to watch the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship and witnessed history being made when Minnesota native Cameron Naasz became the first American to win the contest.
Although the Lakeville native has placed in the race before – taking third in 2014 and second last year – he said he was shocked by the win.
“It feels amazing,” Naasz said shortly after his victory. “I don’t even know what to do with myself. I need to go back to my hotel room and decompress, have a shower and I think then it’ll sink in.”
Naasz trained hard, physically and mentally for this year’s Crashed Ice event. He even learned to watch the large TV screens along the course as he skated to keep track of his opponents.
Naasz said he knew he had to step up his performance to secure a win against Canadian Scott Croxall, who placed first in last year’s race. Sunny Ellen, Naasz’s girlfriend, expressed pride in his hard work.
“I can’t even say in words how excited I am. I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard, he’s so good at this sport, and he’s natural,” Ellen said. “He deserves to win. For him to win the title in the U.S., in his hometown state … there is no way to describe that feeling.”
Before coming to St. Paul for the contest’s final round, the skaters competed in Quebec City, Munich and Jyväskylä, Finland to prepare for the final round. Naasz said being able to race in his home state was important.
“It’s definitely different racing here. I think it’s different because it’s the best. The fans here love it,” Naasz said. “Everybody gets so pumped up here, and they cheer for the USA guys.”
Naasz hopes to defend his title next winter in the 16th annual Crashed Ice championship.
“It is going to be much harder to defend the title because all the guys will be gunning for you,” Naasz said. “I am not going to take it lightly, and I will work hard in the off season and come out just as powerful next year.”
Samantha Yang can be reached at yang6578@stthomas.edu.