The stage was set for both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, as X Games 13 opened Aug. 2, to 17,174 fans at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.
Featured events were Moto X Best Trick and Skateboard Big Air Finals.
Tasting the thrill of victory at his first X Games appearance, Kyle Loza, 21, took the Gold Medal in Moto X Best Trick. He showcased “The Volt,” a trick of his own design where he did a 360-degree turn above the bike seat while airborne.
“I’ve been working on it for a long time,” Loza said, noting his fellow riders had urged him to follow the recent trend in Moto X of perfecting flips.
The Volt, Loza said, is “gnarly. You have to do the whole trick before your bike peaks out on you!”
Adam Jones won the Silver Medal in Moto X Best Trick with a backflip variation.
Todd Potter rounded out the top three, taking home the Bronze Medal after nailing a “Kiss of Death” backflip.
While in Skateboard Big Air Bob Burnquist took the Gold by narrowly edging out Jake Brown 95.66 to 95.33.
Brown executed an incredible 720-degree jump over the gap. He then lost his skateboard on the quarterpipe and dropped almost 50 feet straight down. He hit the ground so hard that his shoes were knocked off, silencing the entire arena.
Medical aid rushed to revive the unconscious Brown, who got to his feet after almost five minutes and was helped off the ramp. The crowd went wild.
Later during the Moto X Best Trick Finals, Scott Murray also felt the agony of defeat. He attempted to recreate the history making Travis Pastrana double back-flip that brought the house down at X Games 12 last year.
However, Murray didn’t quite have enough momentum and took a hard spill upon landing. He managed to get back on his feet and walk up the hill to give a thumbs up to the appreciative crowd .
Moto X Best Trick features motorcyclists attempting aerial manuevers while jumping from a ramp to a dirt hill.
Skateboard Big Air features athletes skating down either a 60 or 80 foot ramp, launching across either a 50 or 70 foot gap, landing and then continuing into a 27′ high quarterpipe. Speeds can reach 40 mph on the starting ramp.
