X-Games VIII – OH MY GOD!

August 18, 2002

There was a hell of a lot of X-Games on today, and bunches and bunches of crazy, crazy tricks.

In Freestyle Motorcross, Mike Metzger not only hit the backflip, until now the holy grail of MotoX, but he hit so many of them that by the time the finals came around, he decided to hit them BACK TO BACK. In MotoX, you’re using an actual gas powered bike, so it’s all high speed, big air, and the last thing people have been thinking about is pulling that 250 pound back OVER their heads by doing a backflip. Well, until now. Metzger hits the backflip so easily now he’s saying his next trick will be to do more tricks while he’s inverted in the flip.

The second mindblowing moment of the day happened in BMX Vert Ramp, where The Condor, Mat Hoffman, did the impossible once again. Dropping in with a chance to take first, he decided that he would go for a No Handed 900. The surprise factor was in full effect, as no one was even expecting the No Hander 900. That’s two and a half revolutions in the air with your arms extended. It was incredible, with full extension in his arms, and ridiculously fast rotation, Hoffman still needed every inch of air, landing practically in the flat of the ramp with remarkable force. Unfortunately, two tricks later he jammed his handlebars on a flare and was unable to finish his run under time. He STILL got a silver medal, and would have easily taken the gold had he not run into his technical problems.

The entire X-Games Video Archive is here.

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