X Games 14

Another round of X Games completed, with more snapshots of athletes flying through the air, heels pointed to the sky.

If only Danny Way had planned it that way.

Way's brush with catastrophe somewhat paled in comparison with the 45-foot fall Jake Brown survived during last year's skateboard big-air competition, but Way undoubtedly stamped his image on the X Games, clipping his feet on the lip of the quarterpipe in Thursday's contest at Staples Center and catapulting 27 feet down the face.

Way escaped with a few bumps and bruises, even earning a silver medal after limping back to the top of the drop-in ramp and executing his planned run.

That was the week's most memorable near-death-turned-success story, but there were others who held their breath, then delivered lasting impressions.

Upside down, of course.

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Battle of the BMXers

Chad Kagy and Dave Mirra watched what happened to Way the night before. That didn't stop them from pulling out all the stops in the BMX big-air competition Friday night.

They traded tricks, swapped leads and shared the spotlight on Day 2 of the X Games, unleashing and completing never-been-seen maneuvers on thin strips of rubber.

Somebody had to win, and that turned out to be Kagy, who landed a back flip tailwhip over the 70-foot gap, followed by a tailwhip flair 17 feet above the quarterpipe.

"I ate it quite a bit in practice, but I know how to crash," said Kagy, who broke his collarbone while practicing for the event last year. "I survived, and pulled out a solid run when I needed it."

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Was it a bird or a plane?

No, that was Jeremy Lusk, gritting his teeth and soaring into the air in the Moto X Freestyle competition Saturday night at the Home Depot Center, where he successfully landed a back flip superman seat grab, helping him earn his first X Games gold medal.

Lusk acknowledged afterward that he had second thoughts about adding the trick to his 90-second routine, remembering how hard he crashed when he attempted the same maneuver last year.

"I was scared to do it," he said.

"At the same time, I was, 'This is X Games, this is where you're not supposed to care.' "

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Still working out the kinks

The front flip might just be the next big trick of the X Games. Jim DeChamp tried it and failed; Andrew Comrie-Picard didn't attempt the maneuver but almost succeeded.