X Games’ final year in Texas was kicked off in its usual manner, starting with Lifeproof Motocross Step Up at the Circuit of the America’s in Austin. The event took place after several days of heavy rain and flooding which led to concerns over dirt conditions. The result of the event was a shocking change of medals with Ronnie Renner failing to medal in the event for the first time since 2002, and Australian Jarryd McNeil winning his first of two gold medals (Step up/Best Whip).
2016 also saw the return of popular Moto event such as Freestyle and MotoX Best Trick, which have been absent for several years. These events brought with them popular athletes such as Taka Higashino, Jackson ‘JACKO’ Strong, and Josh Sheehan. Pairing these with the growing Quarterpipe competition and the Twitter based Best Whip, Moto events were heavily contested in Austin.
Freestyle was won by another Australian, Josh Sheehan, who also won two additional medals throughout the weekend, followed closely by Rob Adelburg (silver), and Clinton Moore (bronze). Moore also took home two other medals in Best Trick and Quarterpipe.
X Games wrapped up its stint in Austin Sunday with the MotoX Best Trick competition, which saw an emotional gold medal performance by another Australian, Jackson Strong, who only hours earlier was rushed by helicopter to the hospital after suffering a scary crash during the Quarterpipe Competition. He returned, and without any warm ups or practice, threw an enormous front flip over the big gap gaining the unanimous respect of both the crowd and judges.
Motocross in Austin was marked by incredible endurance, progressive tricks, and Australian domination (10 medals total)
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BONUS: Check out the photos from the blink-182 set during X Games 2016!
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