Monster Energy Congratulates Its Athletes on Strong Performance at X Games Minneapolis 2019
MINNEAPOLIS (PRWEB) August 06, 2019 -- The most competitive X Games in history is a wrap! Monster Energy, the official energy drink of X Games Minneapolis 2019, congratulates its athletes on a hugely successful weekend competing at the world’s premier action sports event. The world-class team brought the heat with a total of 13 medals across BMX, Skateboarding, and Moto X disciplines, claiming three gold, five silver and five bronze medals. Visit monsterenergy.com for exclusive content on all the team’s achievements at this edition of Summer X Games.
Now in its third year in the Twin Cities, the four-day event featured close to 170 action sports athletes from across the globe at the state-of-the-art U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. The level of competition was off the charts this year as a new wave of young riders battled with elite X Games athletes for the top spots.
Fans enjoyed immersive experiences inside the X Fest village as well as musical performances from headline acts including P.O.S., Diplo, SWMRS, Incubus, The Blind Shake, and Wu-Tang Clan at The Armory music venue.
The opening night on Thursday, August 1, saw the world’s best halfpipe riders compete in the Skateboard Vert and BMX Vert finals on the 14-foot ramp at The Armory. Coming in as the oldest competitor at this year’s X Games at age 48, BMX trailblazer Jamie Bestwick once again proved he remains among the sport’s top competitors by winning silver. A perfect run featuring Superman down whip, turndown, extended Candy Bar and massive alley-oop 540 had the crowd on its feet and earned Bestwick his 20th career X Games medal.
Also bringing home precious medal on day one of X Games Minneapolis 2019, Monster Energy athletes dominated the Moto X Step Up competition outside U.S. Bank Stadium. Monster Energy’s Jarryd McNeil soared above the competition as the only rider to clear the 40-foot high jump mark on his motocross bike. The 28-year-old Australian won gold in the event for the fourth consecutive time, and made history as the first-ever Moto X athlete to claim gold four times in a row at X Games. Following closely behind, McNeil’s teammate Bryce Hudson took silver in Moto X Step Up with a 38-foot high leap.
On Friday, the Monster Energy motocross team continued its medal run on the second day of X Games. The high-octane Moto X Freestyle final ended in an all-Australian podium, with Monster Energy’s Josh Sheehan and Jackson Strong taking home silver and bronze, respectively. After closely missing the top three in Minneapolis last year, Sheehan stoked the crowd with perfect runs featuring highlights such as double backflips, seat grab 360 flip, and backflip no-hander.
Joining him on the podium, Strong showcased difficult frontflip variations – including a frontflip no-hander – for a solid third-place finish.
Friday also saw Monster Energy’s Lizzie Armanto holding it down in the highly contested Women’s Skateboard Park final. Facing a new wave of young competitors in their early teens, the 26-year-old from Santa Monica took the bronze medal on the strength of her creative lines and deep bag of tricks, including gap to eggplant from the deep end and tweaked crossbone air over the centerpiece pyramid. This marks the third career X Games medal for the world-travelling ambassador for women’s skateboarding, who made history last year as the first female skateboarder to complete Tony Hawk’s ‘Loop of Death’ obstacle.
Saturday was the biggest day in terms of crowd attendance at X Games Minneapolis 2019 and the level of progression was on full display in all disciplines. The Men’s Skateboard Street event ended with an upset when defending gold medalist and Monster Energy rider Nyjah Huston found his winning streak derailed by Japan’s Yuto Horigome. Despite posting a perfect run on the concrete skate course – including technical handrail tricks such as Caballerial backside lipslide – the 24-year-old skateboard phenomenon had to settle for the silver medal. But as it would turn out, the most decorated street skateboarder in X Games history was not finished going for medals this weekend…
In the Men’s BMX Park event, Argentinian rookie Jose Torres hit the concrete bowl course mixing style and technical difficulty to claim bronze as his first X Games medal. What’s more, the 24-year-old from Cordoba also made history as the first Argentinian to medal at X Games. Argentina is now the 39th country in X Games history to earn a medal.
Wrapping up an eventful day three at X Games Minneapolis, the dynamic duo of Josh Sheehan and Jackson Strong returned to the winner’s podium in Moto X Best Trick. This time, it was Strong who took silver by sending a highly technical frontflip no-hander over the massive gap. Sheehan also rolled into the competition with a heavy trick up his sleeve: A fully extended double backflip no-hander over the gap earned the 33-year-old from Donnybrook, Australia, the bronze medal. Both Sheehan and Strong are now proud owners of ten X Games medals each, while ‘Jacko’ continues his perfect run of medaling in every Moto X Best Trick event he enters.
Speaking of medals, Monster Energy’s Jarryd McNeil added to his medal count by claiming bronze in the spectacular aerial show known as Moto X Best Whip. In a jam session format judged on overall impression, McNeil pulled the full spectrum of whip variations, including fully contorted turndown-style whips and his signature seat-bounce whips, to earn his 13th career X Games medal. Overall, Monster Energy crushed it in motocross this weekend with a total of seven medals (1 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze).
The fourth and final day at X Games Minneapolis 2019 was all about progression: The most advanced and spectacular stunts earned medals in best trick competitions across BMX and skateboarding disciplines.
Starting off the day with a bang, Nyjah Huston finally found his gold medal in the Men’s Skateboard Street Best Trick competition. Dominating the 20-minute jam session, Huston sent a highly technical Caballerial kickflip transfer to backside lipslide fakie, followed by a Caballerial backside nosebluntslide fakie over the centerpiece obstacle. Nyjah Huston now owns 17 Skateboard Street medals in total (11 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze), plus one gold in the Real Street video contest. He will have his next shot at precious metal really soon in the upcoming X Games Norway on August 31.
As the final event of a history-making edition of Summer X Games, the fourth annual Dave Mirra’s BMX Park Best Trick showcased the insane level of progression in the sport. In a heated 20-minute jam session full of slams and spectacular tricks, Monster Energy rider and rookie pro Mike Varga put his own twist on the 900 aerial.
Sending a never-been-done 900 tailwhip, spinning the entire bike by the handlebar in mid-air, from a vertical quarterpipe into an adjacent bank earned the 22-year-old the gold medal; his first X Games podium.
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So there you have it: History-making stunts, rising rookie pros and X Games legends at the top of their game – X Games Minneapolis 2019 had it all. Monster Energy also brought in noncompeting athletes and personalities to meet and greet with fans and enjoy a weekend in the Twin Cities. The Monster Energy squad included Luke ‘The Dingo’ Trembath, hosting Facebook live, as well as Jeremy ‘Twitch’ Stenberg, and Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams. Snowboarders Chloe Kim, Sage Kotsenburg, and Jamie Anderson also made appearances on-site and in live television broadcasts.
Now that the third Summer X Games in Minneapolis is a wrap, all eyes are on the upcoming X Games Norway on August 31. The one-day event will feature the full package of BMX, Freeski, Motocross, Skateboarding and Snowboarding combined under one roof at the Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway. The invite-only action sports extravaganza will see Monster Energy’s elite athletes battling for podium spots, including Nyjah Huston, Kelvin Hoefler, Jamie Anderson, Henrik Harlaut, Sage Kotsenburg, Sarah Hoefflin, Sven Thorgren, and many more. Make sure to tune in!
For X Games fans in the United States who missed the action, ABC will show four hours of event recap coverage beginning Saturday, August 10, as part of the World of X Games series as well as a one-hour Best of Show featuring athletic and musical highlights on Saturday, August 17.
Check out http://www.monsterenergy.com for more from the spectacular X Games Minneapolis 2019 including photos, videos, and contest results. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.
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About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer and distributor of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.
Kim Dresser, Indie Agency Inc., http://www.indiepragency.com, +1 (949) 300-5546, [email protected]
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