Monster Energy’s Nyjah Huston Takes Silver in Men’s Skateboard Street at X Games Austin 2016
Austin, Texas (PRWEB) June 06, 2016 -- Monster Energy congratulates team rider Nyjah Huston on his strong silver medal finish in Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street at X Games Austin 2016. In a down-to-the-wire final between 14 of the world’s top street skaters at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), the 21-year-old from San Juan Capistrano, California closely ceded the victory by fractions of a point to Canada’s Ryan Decenzo. Also making the podium, Huston’s Monster Energy teammate Ishod Wair won Bronze, his first career X Games medal.
Huston came into today’s final as the defending champion after winning gold in Men’s Skateboard Street at X Games Austin 2015. As the action heated up, the competitors took their individual approaches to the California RampWorks-designed street course stacked with huge quarter pipes on both ends, plus an assortment of ledges, bumps, a centerpiece obstacle with stairs and a bright-red volcano.
Huston’s first two runs covered every corner of the street course with a variety of difficult moves, but a few falls put him in a familiar situation: It all came down to his last run. No stranger to dramatic showdowns, Huston delivered a perfect 50-second run featuring kickflip to frontside boardslide the gap rail, frontside 360 ollie over the bump, frontside feeble grind the A-frame rail, frontside noseblunt slide around the curved pyramid ledge, frontside bigspin boardslide fakie the flat rail, 360 kickflip and backside 180 kickflip over the volcano, switch frontside Smith grind the big rail and fakie kickflip off the bump into the bank below. But when the judges tallied their scores, Huston emerged with 87.00 in second place, only .33 points behind Decenzo.
Joining him in the Top 3, Wair put together a flawless run, stacking difficult tricks with his signature spontaneous flow: Frontside noseblunt slide on the gap rail, 360 kickflip the bump, frontside bluntslide and frontside feeble down the A-frame rail, nollie frontside noseslide down the big rail, a massive switch heelflip down the stair set and a highly difficult backside nollie kickflip off the deck into the quarterpipe, followed by a huge frontside boneless off the bank wall after the buzzer for 86.66 points and the Bronze medal.
“It feels great to win my first medal, I didn’t really plan my run, but it really worked. I’m especially stoked about the nollie flip off the deck into the quarter, that was my favorite,” said Wair upon winning bronze. “I also really love the Skate Park course and maybe I can be an alternate and skate in the competition tomorrow, that would be sick.”
Today’s Silver medal marks Huston’s 12th career X Games medal, bringing the count to eight Gold medals (one for the X Games Real Street Video), three Silver medals, and one Bronze. Having made his X Games debut in 2006 at age 11 – the youngest athlete in X Games history at the time – Huston now ranges as the world’s most competitive skateboarder and recently won Gold at X Games Oslo 2016.
Also bringing the heat in Austin, Monster Energy teamrider and three-time X Games Gold medalist Chris Cole covered the course with 270 ollies to lipslide the rail both ways – frontside and backside – as well as fakie 5-0 grind transfer over the A-frame rail and huge frontside kickflip and switch frontside kickflip down the big stairs.
His teammate, reigning Skateboard Park champion Curren Caples made full use of the flow-oriented course with big lien air transfers from the quarterpipe into the bank, frontside kickflip on the quarterpipe, backside Smith grind the A-frame rail, and frontside nosegrind revert down the big rail.
Stay tuned for more Monster Energy skateboarding in Austin tomorrow, as Caples will be defending his 2015 X Games Austin Skateboard Park title and Tom Schaar, Trey Wood, and Jake Brown battle it out on the Mega Ramp for the Skateboard Big Air title.
For more visit http://www.monsterenergy.com and Monster Energy Facebook this week to score all the exclusive updates from X Games Austin 2016 including photos, videos, and contest results as they happen. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and search #UnleashedAtX for exclusive behind-the-scenes looks in Austin.
For interview or photo requests contact Kim Dresser.
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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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