Jake Brown survived a harrowing 45-foot plunge to the bottom of the mega-ramp in the Skateboard big air competition Thursday night at the X Games, and Bob Burnquist walked away with the gold medal at Staples Center after producing the winning score on the ensuing run.
Brown, a 32-year-old from Australia, was leading the event entering the last of his five runs. He landed the first-ever 720-degree revolution on the mega-ramp, but did not set up properly for the 27-foot high quarterpipe that followed his leap over the 70-foot gap.
Fellow competitors thought he was crouched too low when he took off from the top of the quarterpipe and his momentum shot him away from the wall. He threw his board away and flailed his arms and legs in mid-air before landing on the flat portion of the ramp that leads into the quarterpipe. As he laid motionless, silence enveloped the arena.
"That was the gnarliest thing I've ever seen in my life," said Pierre-Luc Gagnon, who was standing on the arena floor during Brown's final run and immediately ran to his side.
After several minutes, Brown was helped to his feet and walked off the ramp under his own power. He told medical personnel that he did not want to go to the hospital, but he was taken away shortly afterward for observation.
Burnquist then followed that run with a winning score of 96.55, knocking Brown into second with a score of 95.33, achieved on his third run.
--Dan Arritt
Sit and spin for a win
Common sense tells you not to let go of the handlebars while riding a motorcycle -- especially when launching that motorcycle 35 feet into the air. Moto X riders at the X Games have never really been known for common sense.
Kyle Loza not only let go of the handle bars, but he lifted his body off the seat and spun around in a seated position above the bike in a self-invented trick he calls "The Volt."
It was good enough to win gold in the Moto X best trick competition Thursday night at Staples Center.
"At the top of the ramp I started praying, then I closed my eyes, looked up and they said go," said Loza, competing in the X Games for the first time. "I just took off down the ramp and I stuck it, it was pretty sweet."
His original trick scored 94.20. Everyone else played catch up. Adam Jones and Todd Potter came closest.
Jones did a bar hop back flip and Potter landed a Kamakazi back flip and they tied for second at 91 points. Jones was awarded the silver because his two-jump combined score was higher.
