X-Games 18 lives up to the hype! (Again!)

  And just like that, X Games 18 has come and gone like the out-of-control traveling circus that it is. Three days of amazing events, death & gravity defying feats and fierce competition from the best in the world. A true feast for the eyes- the X Games delivered by anyone’s measure of adrenaline-pumping entertainment!  As the host of this event for years now, the downtown LA area and the people putting this together really have this act down. Well planned, well run, and well done- the entire X Games committee can take a bow, as the legions of fans had an amazing time watching these incredible games.

Taka Higashino is a name you should remember for the future, as he is clearly one of the best young riders in these games! In the Moto X Freestyle Final, he took home the first Gold medal of X Games Los Angeles 2012 at the Staples Center on Thursday night. In the best of 2 runs, the Japanese native scored a 93.33 on his first run, which secured his first ever Gold Medal at X Games.

After missing last year’s X Games, New Zealand’s Levi Sherwood made his triumphant return taking home the silver medal, while the bronze went to Chilean, Javier Villegas. After making an early mistake, Todd Potter turned his first run into an extra pratice. The X-Fighters Glen Helen champion, Potter finished a disappointing 9th. Coming off an injury, Norwegian Andre Villa went down on his first run and was unable to continue.

In the Best Whip contest it was Jeremy ‘Twitch’ Stenberg who won the popularity contest with 39% of the fan votes. Jarryd McNeil wins the silver, just edging out Metal Mulisha member, Todd Potter. In Moto X Step Up it was BTO Sports’ own Ronnie Renner who stepped it up, shattering last year’s record with a 47′ bar clearing performance. Jackson Strong won Moto X Best Trick with his ‘bar hop rolling backflip double grab’. Taka Higashino takes home silver with his ‘rock solid backflip’, while Cameron Sinclair secured the bronze, making the once unimaginable double backflip look easy. Without question, these X Games are tailor-made for the Go Pro cameras on the motocross helmets!

In Moto X Speed & Style, Mike Mason dethrowned defending champ Nate ‘The Destroyer’ Adams, to take the gold. Ronnie Faisst took home the bronze, as Edgar Torronteras was unable to compete in the bronze medal match, because of a crash he sustained in the semi-final round versus Adams.

Vicki Golden made it back-to-back X Games golds, as she dominated the competition in Women’s Moto X at the STAPLES Center. The first woman to qualify in an Arenacross race, Vicki nabbed the holeshot in both motos and never looked back. Finishing behind Vicki was the most decorated woman in Women’s Moto X History, Tarah Gieger. Giegsy adds another silver medal to her trophy case, and will also compete in Women’s EnduroCross on Sunday night. Rounding out the podium is France’s Livia Lancelot. This was Livia’s second X Games experience in as many years, taking home her second bronze medal.

The final events of the Games were EnduroCross! What an awesome track!  Making the difficult track look easy, Mike Brown grabbed the holeshot and pulled away from the pack to win gold. At age 40, Brown is the oldest competitor at this year’s X Games. The silver medal goes to 2010 Trials champion Cody Webb, while Canada’s Cory Granffunder takes home the bronze.

Maria Forsberg wins Women’s Moto X Enduro X, making this her second gold medal in as many years. Louise Forsley takes the Silver, while Chatelle Bykerk wins bronze. Tarah Gieger had a strong start, but too many crashes at the end of the race spelled doom for last year’s silver medalist, as she finished in 7th. Multi-time Women’s World MX GP champion, Steffi Laier competed in her first X Games on Sunday, finishing behind Gieger for 8th place.

Here’s a look at the results sheet for X Games 18:

Moto X Freestyle Final Results:

RANK	NAME	RUN 1	RUN 2	BEST
1	Taka Higashino	93.33	92.33	93.33
2	Levi Sherwood	91.33	91.66	91.66
3	Javier Villegas	87.33	88.66	88.66
4	Nate Adams	88.33	88.66	88.66
5	Blake Williams	88.33	87.33	88.33
6	Adam Jones	87.66	88.00	88.00
7	Rob Adelberg	86.00	86.33	86.33
8	Dany Torres	83.33	84.33	84.33
9	Todd Potter	77.33	84.00	84.00
10	Andre Villa	78.00		78.00

 

Skateboard Big Air Elimination:

 

RANK	NAME	HEAT	BEST 1	BEST 2	BEST 3	BEST 4	BEST 5	BEST SCORE
1	Rony Gomes	3	90.00	83.00	6.66	6.66	16.66	90.00
2	Jake Brown	1	89.33	87.00	8.33	8.33	21.66	89.33
3	Edgard Pereira	2	89.00	88.00	8.33	6.66	26.66	89.00
4	Lincoln Ueda	2	88.33	85.66	6.66	6.66	16.66	88.33
5	Elliot Sloan	3	88.33	6.66	5.00	30.00	25.00	88.33
6	Mitchie Brusco	1	87.66	83.66	83.33	6.66	25.00	87.66
7	Alex Sorgente	3	87.33	82.33	80.33	8.33	8.33	87.33
8	Tom Schaar	2	87.00	86.33	6.66	6.66	5.00	87.00
9	Nolan Munroe	3	85.00	82.66	80.66	6.66	15.00	85.00
10	Jagger Eaton	1	82.66	81.33	6.66	6.66	5.00	82.66
11	Italo Penarrubia	2	82.66	6.66	5.00	5.00	16.66	82.66
12	Martin Andre	2	82.33	5.00	15.00	15.00	10.00	82.33
13	Jono Schwan	1	81.00	81.00	8.33	8.33	75.00	81.00
14	Trey Wood	2	77.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	20.00	77.00
15	Jussi Korhonen	3	8.33	8.33	8.33	8.33	76.66	76.66
16	Jocke Olsson	1	8.33	23.33	21.66	21.66	10.00	23.33

Skateboard Big Air Final Results

1. Bob Burnquist – 94.33
2. Mitchie Brusco – 93.00
3. Nolan Munroe – 92.00
4. Jake Brown – 90.00
5. Rony Gomes – 90.00
6. Tom Schaar – 89.33

BMX Street Final Results

1. Garrett Reynolds – 85.00
2. Chad Kerley – 83.00
3. Dakota Roche – 69.00
4. Jeremiah Smith – 69.00
5. Simone Barraco – 68.00
6. Bruno Hoffman – 62.00

Women’s Skateboard Street Final Results

1. Alexis Sablone – 85.66
2. Leticia Bufoni – 81.00
3. Rachel Reinhard – 80.33
4. Marisa Dal Santo – 76.66
5. Lacey Baker – 68.33
6. Elissa Steamer – 62.00

Moto X Best Trick Results

1. Jackson Strong – 91.00, 72.00
2. Taka Higashino – 90.00, 90.33
3. Cameron Sinclair – 89.33, 63.33
4. Thomas Pages – 88.66, 88.00
5. Clinton Moore – 86.66, 63.33
6. Kyle Loza – 62.00
7. Bruce Cook – 61.33
8. Mark Monea – 60.66, 61.00

Moto X Step Up Results

1.  Ronnie Renner – 47′
2. Matt Buyten – 46′
3. Brian Deegan – 39′
4. Myles Richmond – 36′
5. Todd Potter – 32′
6. Massimo Bianconcini – 32′

Best Whip Results

1. Jeremy Stenberg – 32%
2. Jarryd McNeil – 19%
3. Todd Potter – 17%
4. Edgar Torronteras – 14%
5. Josh Hansen – 13%
6. Billy Laninovich – 6%

BMX Freestyle Park Final Results

1. Scotty Cranmer – 79.00
2. Ryan Nyquist – 77.00
3. Pat Casey – 76.00
4. Brett Banasiewicz – 75.00
5. Drew Bezanson – 70.00
6. Gary Young – 67.00

BMX Freestyle Vert Final Results

1. Jamie Bestwick – 86.00
2. Vince Byron – 72.00
3. Simon Tabron – 72.00
4. Steve McCann – 70.00
5. Austin Coleman – 64.00
6. Chad Kagy – 63.00

Skateboard Park Final Results

1. Pedro Barros – 84.00
2. Ben Hatchell – 83.00
3. Rune Glifberg – 78.00
4. Keinv Kowalski – 71.00
5. Ben Raybourn – 69.00
6. Andy McDonald – 62.00

Skateboard Vert Final Results

1. Pierre-Luc Ganon – 91.00
2. Bucky Lasek – 91.00
3. Andy Macdonald – 85.66
4. Sandro Dias – 85.33
5. Danny Mayer – 85.33
6. Rony Gomes – 83.00
7. Tom Schaar – 81.66
8. Elliot Sloan – 69.66

Skateboard Game of SK8 Final Results

1. Ryan Decenzo
2. Ishod Wair
3. Aaron Homoki
4. Mike Plumb

Moto X Speed & Style Final Results

1. Mike Mason – Gold
2. Nate Adams – Silver
3. Ronnie Faisst – Bronze
4. Edgar Torronteras – Did not compete

Women’s Moto X Final Results

1. Vicki Golden
2. Tarah Gieger
3. Livia Lancelot
4. Meghan Rutledge
5. Jessica Patterson
6. Tatum Sik

RallyCross Final Results

1. Sebastien Loeb
2. Ken Block
3. Brian Deegan
4. Rhys Millen
5. Liam Doran
6. Tanner Foust
7. David Higgins
8. David Binks
9. Samuel Hubinette
10. Sverre Isachsen

Men’s Skateboard Street Final Results

1. Paul Rodriguez – 86.00
2. Ryan Sheckler – 85.33
3. Nyjah Huston – 85.00
4. Chaz Ortiz – 82.66
5. Ryan Decenzo – 82.33
6. Manny Santiago – 71.00

Women’s Moto X Enduro X Final Results

1. Maria Forsberg
2. Louise Forsley
3. Chantelle Bykerk
4. Lexi Pechout
5. Kacy Martinez
6. Rachel Gutish
7. Tarah Gieger
8. Steffi Laier
9. Nicole Madsen
10. Nicole Bradford

Men’s Moto X Enduro X Final Results

1. Mike Brown
2. Cody Webb
3. Cory Graffunder
4. Taddy Blazusiak
5. Taylor Robert
6. Graham Jarvis
7. Destry Abbott
8. Geoff Aaron
9. Kevin Rookstool
10. Kyle Redmond

“Twitch”, rocking the sweet Shift dirtbike apparel, takes the Gold…