History of X Games
1994
At a press conference at Planet Hollywood in New York City on April 12, ESPN announces that the first Extreme Games will be held in Rhode Island in June of 1995.
1995
From June 24 through July 1, the Extreme Games are held in Newport, Providence and Middletown, R.I., and Mount Snow, Vt. Athletes compete in 27 events in nine sport categories: Bungy Jumping, Eco-Challenge, In-line Skating, Skateboarding, Skysurfing, Sport Climbing, Street Luge, Biking and Water Sports.
198,000 spectators attend the first Extreme Games. Seven sponsors -- Advil, Mountain Dew, Taco Bell, Chevy Trucks, AT&T, Nike and Miller Lite Ice -- lend their support to the event.
Tony Hawk wins gold in Skateboard Vert & Mat Hoffman takes gold in BMX Vert.
1996
In January, the event name Extreme Games officially changes to the X Games and is held in Providence and Newport, R.I. Dave Mirra wins BMX Street gold.
The first Winter X Games is announced at a press conference on June 30. Snow Summit Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake, Calif., will host competitions in snowboarding, ice climbing, snow mountain bike racing, super-modified shovel racing and a crossover multi-sport event.
1997
The first Winter X Games takes place at Snow Summit with Snowboarding, Ice Climbing, Snow Mountain Bike Racing, Super-Modified Shovel Racing and Crossover Multi-Sport Event disciplines.
X Games is broadcast on ABC for the first time as Snowboarder Jennie Waara earns Halfpipe silver, Snowboarder X gold and Slopestyle bronze – still the only winter athlete to earn three medals in the same event.
X Games hosts qualifying events beginning in March 1997 through 2001 – X Trials, B3 and EXPN Invitational
X Games moves the summer event to Mission Beach, San Diego and Oceanside, California and adds Skateboard Vert Doubles, BMX Flatland and Snowboard Big Air – a 10-story jump comprised of hundreds of tons of manmade snow.
1998
Winter X Games Two moves to Crested Butte, Colorado and adds Freeskiing and Snowmobile SnoCross.
In April, the first-ever international X Games qualifying event is held. The Asian X Games features 200 athletes from the Pacific Rim competing in Phuket, Thailand.
In June, the X Games tops its attendance mark for the fourth consecutive year as more than 233,000 spectators flock to Mariner’s Point in San Diego for X Games Four. BMX athlete Dave Mirra becomes the first to win three gold medals in one X Games.
1999
Crested Butte is once again the site for Winter X Games Three. More than 30,000 attend the event in January, which features more disciplines, including women’s Freeskiing. Shaun Palmer earned the first winter three-peat and became the only athlete to compete in four separate sports – Snowboard, Skiing, Snowmobile and Snow Mountain Biking.
From June 27 through July 4, X Games Five on San Francisco’s Pier 30 & 32 attracts nearly 275,000 spectators. Those in attendance were treated to the X Games debut of Moto X, where Travis Pastrana won the Freestyle event with a score of 99.00 and Tony Hawk’s legendary first 900 in Skateboard Vert.
2000
Winter X Games Four is held in Mount Snow, Vt. The new Snowboard SuperPipe competition is added, increasing the pipe walls to 15 feet. Shaun White and Kelly Clark make their debuts.
X Games Six takes place August 17-22 in San Francisco on Piers 30 and 32. Moto X Step Up competition is added. In BMX, Dave Mirra earned three gold medals at the same event, including landing the first BMX Double Backflip. Tommy Clowers wins the first Moto X Step Up at 35 feet
2001
Winter X Games Five is held February 1-4 for the second year in Mount Snow. Moto X Big Air at the Winter Games makes its debut.
The inaugural Action Sports and Music Awards are held on April 7 at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Chris Klein host the event, which includes performances from the original members of Black Sabbath, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals and more.
X Games Seven moves to Philadelphia and becomes the first X Games event with events held inside and outside an arena at the First Union Complex. Moto X Best Trick made it’s debut.
Bob Burnquist wins gold with a near-perfect Skateboard Vert run. Taïg Khris wins gold with the first in-line skating double backflip. Stephen Murray lands the first BMX Dirt double backflip. Kenny Bartram wins the first Moto X Best Trick gold
2002
Winter X Games Six moves to Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado. Two new skiing disciplines are added: Ski Slopestyle and Ski SuperPipe.
X Games Qualifiers take place in Kuala Lumpur, Rio de Janiero and Barcelona.
The second annual ESPN Action Sports and Music Awards are hosted by Jay Mohr, with performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jay-Z with an all-star band and X-Ecutioners featuring Xzibit.
On May 10, Touchstone Pictures and ESPN present the major motion picture ESPN’s Ultimate X.
X Games Eight returns to Philadelphia and features women’s Skateboard and Moto X exhibitions.
In BMX Vert, Mat Hoffman landed the first no-handed 900. Mike Metzger made history with back-to-back backflips in FMX, becoming the first rider other than Pastrana to win gold in Moto X Freestyle at X Games
2003
Winter X Games Seven returns to Aspen, Colorado and sees Shaun White win gold in both Snowboard SuperPipe and Slopestyle.
The inaugural X Games Global Championship takes place in San Antonio, Texas and Whistler, B.C. simultaneously combining winter and summer action sports competitions. Teams featuring winter and summer athletes grouped by regions competed in Skateboard, Bicycle Stunt, Moto X, Aggressive In-line, Snowboard and Ski.
July 1 kicks off a 41-day X Games tribute at Disney’s California Adventure™ in Anaheim, Calif., titled X Games Xperience. Guests of the newest theme park inside the Disneyland Resort are immersed in a fast-paced array of activities inspired by ESPN’s X Games, including interactive activities like Moto X Big Air and Vert ramp demonstrations featuring X Games athletes.
X Games Nine debuts in Los Angeles at the STAPLES Center, Los Angeles Coliseum and Huntington Beach pier. Surfing and Women’s Skateboard Park and Vert are added to competition.
Skateboarder Ryan Sheckler becomes the youngest gold medalist at 13 years, six months old. In Moto X, Brian Deegan and Travis Pastrana landed the first FMX 360s
2004
Winter X Games Eight returns to Aspen, Colorado for an unprecedented third year in Aspen/Snowmass, Colo. ESPN and Aspen Skiing Company reach a landmark agreement to keep Winter X Games in Aspen through 2007. For the first time, the event was telecast live on ESPN and ABC and ESPN’s SportsCenter, hosted by Linda Cohn, reported live from the event.
X Games hosts Asian X Games Six from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Latin American X Games Three from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
X Games 10 returns to Los Angeles featuring a finals-only format that is telecast completely live for the first time. Skateboard Big Air made its debut, with Danny Way winning gold. In Moto X Best Trick, Chuck Carothers landed the first body varial and Jeremy McGrath competed for the first time in Step Up and Supermoto.
2005
Winter X Games Nine is held for its fourth consecutive year in Aspen/Snowmass, Colo.
The first Thailand X Games Cup featured 14 athletes performing a demo to raise money and awareness for the Dec. 26, 2004 Tsunami relief efforts. X Games Asia moves to Seoul, Korea. The inaugural X Games Dubai is held at Dubai Creek Park featuring action sports demos.
X Games 11 returns to Los Angeles and announces an agreement between ESPN and AEG that will keep X Games in Los Angeles through 2009. The surfing competition moves to Puerto Escondido, Mexico. X Games airs on ESPN Deportes for the first time.
2006
Winter X Games 10 is held for a fifth consecutive year in Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado and announces the event will remain in Aspen through 2010. The event adds daily X Center highlight shows, video clips on iPod and daily Mobile ESPN content. Twenty-eight Olympians competed at Winter X before heading to Torino. Jeaux Hall landed the first 1080 after 17 attempts. Janna Meyen and Shaun White become the first winter athletes to four-peat.
X Games Asia returns to Kuala Lumpur for the fourth time at a new venue, Sunway Lagoon Theme Park. X Games Dubai Two once again hosts demos.
X Games 12 returns to Los Angeles, adding Rally Car Racing and BMX Big Air to its sport lineup. X Games was aired 24 hours a day during the event using ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPN Classic, EXPN.com, ESPN360, Mobile ESPN, ESPN International and iTunes. ESPN also offered a Pay-Per-View offering for the inaugural BMX Big Air and the X Games Moto Madness demonstration. In Moto X Best Trick, Travis Pastrana landed the first Double Backflip and became the third athlete to win three gold in the same X Games event.
2007
Winter X Games 11 in Aspen, Colorado adds Snowmobile Speed & Style, Ski Big Air, Snowboard Big Air and Mono Skier X, its first adaptive discipline. ESPN averaged 734,000 households in prime time – its most-viewed Winter X average ever. On the final day of Winter X Games 11, the Sunday primetime telecast (1/28/07) was ESPN’s most-viewed telecast in Winter X Games history with 925, 377 households and the highest-rated Winter X Games telecast since 1997.
KIA X Games Asia is held for the first time in the People’s Republic of China at Shanghai’s KIC Jiangwan Sports Center in what was the first of a three-year deal to hold the event in China. The first ever international X Games in Mexico takes place at the Palacio de los Deportes. X Games Dubai returns to the United Arab Emirates for the third consecutive year and the event transitions from demos to a full X Games competition.
X Games 13 is held in Los Angeles, adding Moto X Racing and Women’s Surf to its sport lineup. Starting with the kick off of the first ever X Games global simulcast, X Games 13 competitions and content were also featured on ESPN International networks, EXPN.com, ESPN Classic, ESPN 360.com, SportsCenter, and ESPN 2’s X Center.
2008
Winter X Games 12 returned to Aspen, Colorado, televised in high-definition for the first time on ESPN HD and ABC HD. Tanner Hall became the first athlete to three peat in two disciplines, Ski SuperPipe and Slopestyle.
The inaugural X Games Brazil takes place at Sao Paolo’s Sambodromo Do Anhembi. X Games Mexico returns to Mexico City for a second consecutive year. The 10th edition of the Asian X Games returns to Shanghai, China.
X Games 14 from Los Angeles once again kicked off with a live global simulcast, and continued with live coverage the entire weekend on ESPN, ESPN 2 and ABC. X Games added BMX Street, Moto X Speed & Style, Women’s Moto X Racing and BMX and Skateboard SuperPark disciplines.
2009
Winter X Games 13 in Aspen Colorado features a 22-foot SuperPipe and adds women’s Ski Slopestyle and Snowmobile Next Trick. ESPN and Aspen Skiing Company extend their agreement through 2012. In Snowmobile Best Trick, Levi LaVallee nearly landed the first double backflip.
The 11th edition of the KIA X Games Asia takes place at Shanghai's KIC Jiangwan Sports Center.
X Games 3D: The Movie, produced by ESPN Films is released for one-week only.
X Games 15 in Los Angeles debuts concrete in the Park course instead of Skatelite. In a TV first, co-drivers Chrissie Beavis and Jen Horsey commentated live from inside the Rally X cars. X Games 15 becomes the most-viewed X Games ever. Nearly 44 million people tuned into X Games on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC during the four-day event.
In Moto X Women’s Racing, Ashley Fiolek became the first profoundly deaf athlete to win a medal when she earned gold. Anthony Napolitan landed the first double front flip in BMX.
2010
Winter X Games 14 in Aspen sees xx athletes compete before heading to Vancouver Olympics. For the third straight year, the Winter X Games was ESPN’s highest-rated and most-viewed, and more than 43 million viewers tuned in to watch on ESPN and ESPN2. In Ski, Bobby Brown became the first athlete to earn a perfect score of 100 en route to Big Air and Slopestyle gold.
The inaugural Winter X Games Europe takes place in Tignes, France. The 12th KIA X Games Asia returned to Shaghai, China for the fourth year, featuring Skateboard and BMX mini-MegaRamp.
X Games 16 from Los Angeles aired nine hours of content live in 3D for the first time.
2011
In May, ESPN announced a global expansion plan for X Games that would include six world-class X Games events around the world beginning in 2013. A total of 130 hours of live TV coverage on ESPN networks and around the world was dedicated across the six X Games events.
Winter X Games 15 from Aspen saw the highest winter event attendance ever with 114,200. Norway’s Torstein Horgmo landed the first Triple Cork in Big Air and Kelly Clark landed the first female 1080 in SuperPipe. Brothers Caleb and Colten Moore landed the first two-man backflip in Snowmobile Best Trick. Skier Torin Yater-Wallace became the youngest medalist in winter history at 15.
Winter X Games Europe Two returned to Tignes where ESPN3 distributed 18.5 hours of content live and for the first time ESPN & ESPN2 televised a combined 13.5 hours of tape-delayed content in the U.S.
X Games 17 returned to Los Angeles, where Jackson Strong landed the first Moto X Best Trick front flip and Enduro X made its debut.
2012
Returning to Aspen, Colo. for the eleventh year, Winter X Games Aspen 2012 rating was boosted by the highest-rated and most-watched Winter X Games telecast ever on ESPN, a 1.4 on Sunday, Jan. 29. In Snowmobile, Heath Frisby landed the first front flip and Shaun White earned the first SuperPipe five-peat with a perfect 100.
X Games Tignes returned for the third consecutive year with 103,500 fans in attendance. KIA X Games Asia was held in Shanghai for the sixth consecutive year and was once again the biggest action sports competition in Asia. The four-day event attracted a record-breaking 67,500 spectators
X Games Los Angeles 2012 celebrated 10 years of X Games in Los Angeles and allowed fans to consume content on more platforms than before including ESPN.com/action, ESPN 3D, XGames.com, ESPN3 and X Games social media sites. Ronnie Renner crushed the previous Step Up record of 37’ by soaring 47’.
2013
X Games Global Expansion kicked off with Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. In addition to 20 hours of live coverage on ESPN, WatchESPN streamed all 20 hours of live content. ESPN also produced 10 one-hour syndication shows for networks to air following the event. Tucker Hibbert became the first winter athlete to six-peat when he won Snowmobile SnoCross. Shaun White also six-peated in Snowboard SuperPipe.
X Games Tignes drew out 117,000 spectators in three days, the all-time record for Winter X Games events. This also marked the first time ABC broadcast X Games Tignes. Snowboarder Iouri Podladtichov landed the first cab double cork 1440 in SuperPipe.
In April, X Games Foz do Iguaçu made its debut from Parque Infraero and Parque Nacional do Iguaçu in Brazil. Surprise BMX double gold win from Kyle Baldock who earned Park and Dirt gold in the same day.
In May, X Games Barcelona became the first summer edition of X Games in Europe with 115,300 spectators. In Skateboard Big Air, Mitchie Brusco became the first athlete to land a 1080 and Jamie Bestwick became the first athlete to earn an eight-peat in BMX Vert.
X Games Munich took place in June with 119,000 spectators at Olympiapark München with the first Mountain Bike Slopestyle competition in X Games history. Bob Burnquist won his fifth straight Skateboard Big Air gold.
The final event of 2013, X Games Los Angeles took place before announcing the summer event would be moving to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. In Skateboard Vert, Bucky Lasek completed his sweep, winning gold in the discipline at all four X Games events in 2013. Vicki Golden became the first woman to compete in an FMX event at X Games, winning bronze in Best Whip.
2014
Returning to Aspen for the 13th year, X Games Aspen 2014 announced an extension for the event to stay in Aspen through 2019. X Games Music hosted four concerts in Wagner Park. XX Olympians competed before heading to Sochi Olympics. Thirteen-year-old Chloe Kim earned silver in her debut, becoming the youngest winter medalist.
The inaugural X Games Austin took place at Circuit of the Americas with 160,000 fans bringing the overall attendance at all X Games events over 20 years to five million. More than 40 musical performances took place over four stages – including Kanye West and The Flaming Lips. Jamie Bestwick extended his wins to nine straight in BMX Vert.
X Games also held the first two World of X Games events with Game of Sk8 from the ESPN Headquarters in Bristol, Conn. and the Guinness World Record Setting X Games Mammoth Flip with Cam Zink.
2015
X Games Aspen 2015 saw a total attendance onsite at Buttermilk Mountain of 115,500, the most fans to ever attend an X Games Aspen event. This event featured live music at a concert stage at Buttermilk Mountain. The inaugural Special Olympics Unified Snowboarding and Adaptive Snowboarder X took place. This year, Chloe Kim earned gold, becoming the youngest gold medalist at a winter event at 14 years old.
X Games Austin returned to Circuit of The Americas for a second year. The X Games Instagram account surpassed one million followers and Snapchat featured X Games Austin as a live story on Saturday, garnering more than 330 million story views throughout the event. In BMX Big Air, Colton Satterfield became the first athlete to land a double flair on the quarterpipe. Thomas Pages won gold in the inaugural Moto X QuarterPipe event with a bike flip. Musical performances included Nicki Minaj and Metallica.
2016
X Games returned to Aspen for its 15th consecutive year, also marking the 20th edition of Winter X Games. Snowboarder Max Parrot landed the first cab triple cork 1800 in Snowboard Big Air.
The inaugural X Games Oslo became the first event where summer and winter action sports were contested in the same city at an X Games event. This event also added Women’s Ski Big Air for the first time. The event hosted Big Air at Toyen, SuperPipe at Vinterpark and Skateboard at Skur 13 and musical performances by Alan Walker and Yelawolf.
X Games returned to Austin, Texas for its third and final year at Circuit of The Americas where, for the first time in the X Games’ 21-plus-year history, severe weather forced two venue evacuations. X Games Austin 2016 marked the first use of Facebook 360 Videos, with six hits and more than 4.9 million views, as well as Facebook Live, with 11 hits and more than 400,000 views. Kyle Baldock won the inaugural Dave Mirra BMX Bet Trick golden pedal. All Time Low and blink-182 performed.
2017
X Games Aspen 2017, the 16th year in Aspen, saw millennial audience growth of 24% year-over-year. Once again WatchESPN also experienced significant growth, with 16 million minutes of X Games content viewed, up 32%. In Snowboard Big Air, Hailey Langland landed the first female cab double cork 1080 and Max Parrot landed the first quadruple underflip. In Ski SuperPipe, Aaron Blunck landed back-to-back switch double corks. Snow BikeCross debuted.
The second year of X Games Norway moved to Hafjell resort, near Lillehammer, to host Slopestyle and Big Air events.
The inaugural Road to X Games Park Qualifier took place at Rhodes Skatepark in Boise, Idaho, broadcast live on YouTube and XGames.com.
The inaugural X Games Minneapolis saw 110,000 fans at U.S. Bank Stadium. In collaboration with Samsung electronics, X Games Minneapolis delivered the first X Games events streamed live in immersive VR exclusively to 48 countries on Samsung Gear VR through the Samsung VR app. Skateboarder Brighton Zuener unseats Ryan Sheckler as the youngest gold medalist in X Games history as she wins gold on her 13th birthday and Garrett Reynolds extended his win streak in BMX Street to nine straight. A Day to Remember, Atmosphere and Flume performed.
2018
X Games Aspen 2018 took place just two weeks before the Pyeongchang Olympics with xx Olympians competing at X Games. The number of minutes streamed on X Games’ YouTube channel nearly tripled in 2018, with 11.5MM minutes streamed, up +185% from 2017 and the total number of video views on X Games’ YouTube channel was 2.0MM, up +183% from 2017. Martin Garrix, Mathod Man and Red Man, LCD Soundsytem and Marshmello performed. In Snowboard SuperPipe, Ayumu Hirano earned a near-perfect 99.00 and Chloe Kim’s winning run included back-to-back 1080s. Snow Bike Best Trick debuted.
In its third year, X Games Norway returned to Oslo where the event was broadcast live in the U.S. on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Live streaming minutes on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube combined for more that 1.07MM minutes watched. Skateboarding was hosted at Skur 13 and Big Air at the Telenor Arena where riders dropped in through the roof. Kokomo Murase became the first woman to land a double cork 1260 and the youngest medalist in winter X Games history at 13.
The second year of X Games Minneapolis saw the X Games’ YouTube channel have more than 26 million minutes streamed, up +646% year-over-year, with the average watch time reaching more than 11 minutes. The total number of video views on X Games’ YouTube channel topped 2.3 million.
For the first time, an X Games event was hosted in Australia – X Games Sydney held at Spotless Stadium.
2019
X Games Aspen 2019 saw a record attendance of 117,000, tying X Games Tignes for the highest attendance at a winter event in X Games history. This event saw 17 million video views across social media channels and social posts tagged with #XGames, #XGamesAspen and #XGFan created more than 18 million total interactions. ESPN and ASC once again extended their contract, keeping X Games in Aspen through 2024. Snowboard Knuckle Huck made its debut. Kygo, The Chainsmokers, Louis and the Child and Lil’ Wayne performed.
X Games Norway held the fourth edition at Telenor Arena, as the first X Games event with summer and winter disciplines held under the same roof with Ski, Snowboard, Skateboard and Moto X all in one day.
X Games returned to Shanghai with the largest action sports event ever arranged in Asia as X Games Shanghai. For the fourth consecutive year, X Games traveled to Oslo for X Games Norway for a one-day spectacular event.
X Games returned to Minneapolis for the third year, drawing increases in video views across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. In Skateboard Big Air, Mitchie Brusco landed the first 1260, Kokona Hiraki became the youngest medalist in X Games history at 10 and Gui Khury lands the 900 as X Games’ youngest competitor in history at 10 years old. Musical performances included P.O.S. and Wu-Tang Clan.
2020
X Games held two world-class events in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic brought contests and festivals to a halt around the globe. First, 115,000 fans attended X Games Aspen.
Norway hosted an X Games for the fifth straight year from Hafjell. Mark McMorris became the athlete with the most podiums in winter X Games history.
X Games Chongli, Shanghai and Minneapolis were cancelled due to COVID-19.
2021
With the Covid-19 pandemic still raging around the globe, X Games Aspen became one of the first large-scale events to return, produced in a bubble situation. Here, Eileen Gu became the first woman in X Games history to earn three medals as a rookie as well as the only woman to win two gold as a rookie. Mathilde Gremaud also made history, becoming the first woman ever to land a double cork 1440 in either ski or snowboard competition and Marcus Kleveland landed the first backside quad cork 1800.
Still operating under COVID restrictions, X Games staged a summer event under a “backyard model” - with multiple small venues across Southern California. Skateboard Best Trick stole the show and earned attention worldwide when 53-year-old Tony Hawk spontaneously decided to compete. And while the sports icon performed well, it was 12-year-old Brazilian Gui Khury who took gold. Khury landed the first 1080 on a vert ramp, ever, in the process becoming the youngest gold medalist in X Games history. Skateboarder Sky Brown became the first woman to land a frontside 540 in competition.
2022
X Games Aspen welcomed fans back to the event under limited capacities. Snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott became the first female to land multiple double corks in a run. Alex Hall lands the first 2160 in Men’s Ski Big Air.
The inaugural X Games Chiba brought an X Games event to Japan for the first time at ZOZO Marine Stadium. BMX Flatland returned after a 19-year hiatus.
X Games returned to the backyard model again in 2022, adding the debut of Skateboard and BMX MegaPark from Elliot Sloan’s backyard. The event also hosted the first live Real Street Best Trick from San Diego’s legendary Brookyln Rail. FMXer Rob Adelberg became the first athlete to land back-to-back front flips and Colby Raha pushed the QuarterPipe High Air record to 49’ over the 18’ ramp.
In October, ESPN announced that after 27 years at the forefront of action sports, it had sold a majority share of X Games to MSP Sports Capital. The event would remain with ESPN as a broadcast partner, but would be operated by MSP Capital moving forward.
2023
At X Games Aspen 2023, Megan Oldham became the first woman to land a triple in either ski or snowboard contest history -- her triple cork 1440 scored a perfect 50 and led to Ski Big Air gold. Not long after, Reira Iwabuchi landed the first triple in women’s snowboard history. Other X Games Aspen 2023 highlights included Mark McMorris’ walk-off gold in Snowboard Slopestyle for his 22nd medal, the most in X Games winter discipline history and Mac Forehand landing the world’s-first forward leftside 2160 in Men’s Ski Big Air en route to a perfect score.
In May, X Games returned to Japan after a successful debut in 2022, and young athletes excelled. Teens and pre-teens comprised 32.4% of the X Games Japan 2023 roster, the highest percentage of any X Games in history. Ten teens earned medals, and they swept the podium in both Women’s Skateboard Park and Women’s Skateboard Street. Ginwoo Onodera stunned the world by dominating Men’s Skateboard Street. At age 13 years, 2 months, the budding Japanese star is the youngest champ in X Games Street history.
Fans returned to X Games’ summer showcase for the first time since 2019! X Games California featured crowds packing the beachside venue in Ventura, and additional contests were held in the San Diego area: Real Street Best Trick and Real BMX Best Trick thrilled at the iconic Rincon Middle School, and MegaPark was back in Elliot Sloan’s yard. The youth again impressed: Reese Nelson’s silver medal in Women’s Skateboard Vert made her the youngest medalist in X Games history, at age 10 years, 8 months. Arisa Trew, age 13 years, 2 months, won both Women’s Skateboard Vert (where she landed the first women’s 720 in a contest) and Park, smashing a record Shaun White owned for 20 years: youngest X Games double gold medalist. Tony Hawk competed in Skateboard Vert Best Trick for the second straight X Games, but it was 14-year-old Gui Khury who took his second gold in the discipline. Ryan Williams and Kevin Peraza both collected two gold and a silver, becoming the first BMX athletes with three medals at the same X Games since 2006.