<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Participating in the <strong>World Rookie Tour</strong> gives young snowboarders not only the opportunity to compete in some of the best events and best snowparks in the world but also to take part to one of the most <strong>prestigious pro events</strong> on the planet such as the <strong>X Games</strong>! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The young Japanese riders, <strong>Takeru Otsuka</strong> and <strong>Kokomo Murase</strong>, officially began their carrier as professional snowboarders by winning the 2018 <strong>World Rookie Finals</strong> in Kitzsteinhorn – Zell am See-Kaprun and earning there an invitation to the <strong>2018 edition of the X Games Norway</strong>, where they both conquered the podium and got the prestigious <strong>X Games Gold Medal</strong>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As <strong>Henning Anderson</strong><strong>, the organizer of the X Games Norway</strong> stated “It’s a sports fairy tale. Earning a spot in our qualification is a legendary in itself. But winning both the qualification and the gold is beyond belief. It’s like Norway would have won the world champs in soccer, which will never happen”. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was an historic victory as two young athlets, Takeru 17 and Kokomo 13, were able to compete against Olympic medallists and the best snowboarders in the world. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“World rookie tour champions winning the 2018 X Games Norway represent a great recognition for our project: to offer every rookie out there the possibility to make their Dream come true. If your dream is to be a Professional snowboarder, they your future start at the rookie Fest“, <strong>Marco Sampaoli WRT Co-Founder</strong>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“In 14 years of dedication and effort in the World Rookie Tour development, we saw many of our rookies becoming professional athlets and joining professional events and Olympic Games. But watching our latest tour champions, just one month after the rookie finals, winning both the X Games in Norway is unbelievable: it show clearly the incredible sport level of our rookie event.“, <strong>Meinhard Trojer WRT Co-Founder.</strong></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ready to see the Japanese riders in action? Don’t miss the video recap of the WRT Finals and the X Games Norway. Enjoy it below!</div><div><br /></div>