15 most eye-popping performances from this year’s X Games
By Nicole Bosco
With the X Games Minneapolis 2018 in the books, we take a look back on the most outrageous performances of the weekend.
The X Games have been a longtime showcase for the very best of the best in extreme sports. From 1995 on, the highest flyers, the fastest skaters, the craziest athletes on the planet have come together to shock the fans.
What extreme sports fan doesn’t remember when Tony Hawk landed the first 900 on the vert ramp, or when Mike Metzger landed a back-to-back backflip on a motorcycle? There are moments from each year of the X Games that stand out in the memories of fans and athletes alike. This year was no different.
Four days in the middle of July in Minneapolis, Minnesota, brought out some of the top skaters, BMX riders and Moto X riders in the world. Athletes from more than 10 different countries battling it out to see who can fly higher, and who can take bigger risks. Men and women looking for fame and glory hit the vert ramps, the street parks and the dirt.
With the youngest athlete hitting the X Games at 14 years old and the oldest at 51 years old, the events are for everyone, and especially for every fan to enjoy.
This past weekend was filled with moments that seem so unimaginable that they are worth a second look. Here you can see the top 15 most outrageous moments from the 2018 Summer X Games in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
15. Dennis McCoy becomes the oldest man to land a 900 in BMX history
The 2018 BMX vert finals were full of excitement from start to finish, but nobody caught the eyes of the crowd quite like Dennis McCoy. McCoy made his first appearance at the X Games in 1995 and has only missed one year since. After skipping 2017, McCoy returned to the vert ramp in 2018 and became a part of history as the oldest man to land a 900 on the BMX vert ramp.
51-year-old @bmxDMC becomes the oldest BMX Vert rider in history to land a 900! pic.twitter.com/kIReJu0bNh
— X Games (@XGames) July 20, 2018
The 51-year-old McCoy hung right there with the young guns as he was able to whip his bike around three full rotations. With a final score of 80.66 in his second run, McCoy would finish in seventh place on Thursday night.
No stranger to X Games medals, McCoy came into 2018 with a total of one gold, three silver and three bronze. With no sign of slowing down, McCoy took a hard fall in his first run but got right back up and threw down the 900 in the second attempt. McCoy is the longest active X Games competitor at 25 appearances.
A longtime member of legendary BMX Mat Hoffman posse, McCoy proves that although he began riding with the original riders of the sport, he can still hang with the next generation as well.