Unlock stock picks and a broker-level newsfeed that powers Wall Street.
Monster Energy Riders Sweep Podium in BMX Street with Kevin Peraza Taking Gold, Jordan Godwin Silver, and Lewis Mills Bronze and Tom Schaar Takes Gold in Skateboard Vert
PR Newswire
9 min read
Monster Energy congratulates its BMX, Moto X, and skateboard athletes on a strong performance at X Games Ventura 2024 on Day 1 of the Competition.
VENTURA, Calif., July 1, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Summer X Games is off to an amazing start! Monster Energy congratulates its BMX, Moto X, and skateboard athletes on a strong performance at X Games Ventura 2024. On the first day of competitions inside Ventura County Fairgrounds & Events Center, Monster Energy riders claimed a total of seven medals (2 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze) across four contest events in the 70th edition of X Games.
Monster Energy's riders swept the full podium in BMX Street with 29-year-old Kevin Peraza from Tucson, Arizona, taking gold, 28-year-old Jordan Godwin from Wales claiming silver, and 26-year-old Lewis Mills from Terrey Hills, Australia, taking bronze. The Men's Skateboard Vert final concluded with 24-year-old Tom Schaar from Malibu, California, earning the gold medal in a down-to-the-wire contest.
Here's how Friday at X Games Ventura 2024 unfolded for Team Monster Energy:
BMX Street: Full Podium Sweep for Team Monster Energy Headed by Kevin Peraza in 1st Place
The most heated competition of the day unfolded in the BMX Street final, where previous year's gold medalist Kevin Peraza from Tucson, Arizona, dropped in to defend the gold medal. Adding to the challenge, this year's competition format scored riders on a new scoring system: Half of the 100-point score was earned from the highest-scoring of two runs, with another maximum of 50 points to be earned from two best trick attempts.
Dropping into the competition as the defending gold medalist, Peraza worked the course with creative moves and explosive pop. Highlights such as 270 downside tailwhip over toothpick down the rail, double peg up the rail to hard 360 out, huge flair on the small quarter, bonk 360 off the side of a ledge, and 180 tailwhip over the sunglasses earned Peraza 36.33 points.
When the action moved into Best Tricks, Peraza found himself outside of podium contention because of his Run store. Rising to the challenge, the Olympic athlete pulled out the highest-scoring trick of the session by landing a pegs to hardway 180 downside tailwhip off the VW bus roof rack rail for 44.33 points and a winning score of 80.66 to claim the gold.
"To start out my weekend at X Games with another gold medal in BMX Street again, I'm speechless!" said Peraza upon taking gold at X Games Ventura 2024, adding: "BMX is really an incredible community with the best athletes in the world and it's the best family in the world I recently became a father, and that was the most insane and special moment of my life."
The win marks Peraza's second consecutive gold in BMX Street at X Games. He now owns nine X Games medals, including six gold and will also be competing in BMX Park and BMX Park Best Trick. Stay tuned!
Peraza's fiercest competitor proved to be 28-year-old Jordan Godwin from Cardiff, Wales. On his first run, Godwin edged into first place and commanded the top spot with 41.33 points for technical tricks such as toothpick hanger, pegs hard 360, unlucky grind to 180, pole jam 180, switch footed toothpick hanger drop pedal to 180. In Best Trick, Godwin put down a crooked up to crooked grind to 180 icepick peg bonk up the rail for 37.33 points. On the strength of 78.66 points total, Godwin earned silver as his first X Games medal. He also became the first athlete representing Wales to medal at X Games.
Completing the podium sweep for Team Monster Energy, 26-year-old Lewis Mills from Terrey Hills, Australia, impressed the judges by landing a perfect run, including icepick grind the entire 40-feet rainbow rail, barspin icepick grind to hop over, toothpick hanger, cab 360 over the chain, over peg grind to hard 180 out and a manual 180 line for 36.66 points. He followed up his performance with a technical Best Trick: A switch ice pick to tailwhip up the rail earned Mills 38.66 points and a total score of 75.32 points for bronze.
Friday's bronze marks the third X Games medal for Mills (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze).
Men's Skateboard Vert: Tom Schaar Clinches Gold on Final Run
The big story of the day was the Men's Skateboard Vert final. With heavy winds gusting over the 14-foot-tall halfpipe, riders in the 36-minute jam session struggled to put down a complete run. But when it all came down to the wire, 24-year-old Tom Schaar from Malibu, California, landed a full pull on his final attempt to secure the victory.
On his fourth run of the final, Schaar put together alley-oop backside 540 melon, backside 540 tailgrab, alley-oop heelflip Indy nosebone, frontside nosegrind, kickflip Indy to fakie, Cab 720 tailgrab, alley-oop backside lipslide, kickflip body varial, McTwist bigspin backside lipslide, and 360 tailgrab fakie for 92.00 points and the gold medal.
"The wind definitely wasn't helping at all. But everyone absolutely killed it. That was an insane contest. That was crazy! I'm just happy I made a run," said Monster Energy's Schaar upon claiming gold at X Games Ventura 2024.
The win marks Schaar's twelfth X Games medal and second gold medal. It's also the first X Games gold in Skateboard Vert for the athlete who will represent Team USA at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics.
Schaar's closest competition came from last year's bronze medalist, 28-year-old Moto Shibata from Osaka, Japan. Like most riders in the final, Shibata had difficulty stringing together a perfect run. Until his final attempt! A stylish combination of alley-oop front foot impossible lien air, alley-oop McTwist, kickflip McTwist, mute tweak to fakie, fakie 540 nosegrab, fakie 540 mute grab, frontside Cab Madonna, sugar cane grind, Indy nosebone to fakie, and signature Kamikaze Air (frontside Cab front foot impossible air) earned Shibata a score of 89.66 points and the silver medal.
Watch out for Schaar and Shibata in the progressive Men's Skateboard Vert Best Trick event on Saturday.
Women's BMX Park: Kim Lea Mueller Takes Bronze Medal in the Discipline's Debut at X Games
Earlier in the day, competitions at X Games Ventura 2024 kicked off with a brand-new medal event never contested at X Games: The Women's BMX Park final saw ten athletes from six countries take on the massive bowl course with its pool corners, quarter pipes, and table sections looking to post the highest-scoring run.
Dropping into the debut of this women's medal discipline, 22-year-old Kim Lea Mueller from Remscheid, Germany, secured her spot on the podium by earning the bronze medal in her first run out of three.
Working the entire course with speed and technical tricks, Mueller put down a huge 360 can-can over the tall jump box, air on the deep end wall, can-can on the quarter pipe, tailwhip in the corner, foot plant on the Sonic sign sub ledge, one-hand air over the jump box, alley-oop 270 over the hip, and bar spin on the quarter pipe for 84.00 points. Mueller won the bronze medal in the first Women's BMX Park event at X Games.
"I'm so happy! The atmosphere is crazy, and I can't believe we are here with all the girls. It's so cool to be here at this contest," said Mueller at X Games Ventura 2024.
On the strength of the bronze-medal finish, Mueller is the third female athlete from Germany to earn a medal in a summer X Games contest in any discipline. Mueller is the reigning German Champion in the BMX Park discipline and took second place in the European Championships in 2022 and 2023.
Moto X Best Whip: Monster Energy's Julien Vanstippen Claims Silver on Final Attempt
The Moto X Best Whip event was contested in a party atmosphere under the spotlights. Eight riders battled for medals by landing the most contorted aerials, called 'whips,' over the massive gap. A veteran of the discipline, 28-year-old Julien Vanstippen from Ophain, Belgium, dropped in as a podium contender after claiming bronze at X Games California 2023.
When the field of riders was cut from eight to the final four, Vanstippen put down stylish seat bounce whips to make the cut. In the ensuing fight for medals, Vanstippen demonstrated his signature style of inverted whips, flying backwards through the air with the front wheel elevated, before turning back into riding direction closely before the landing.
The massive surprise: After sitting in bronze position for the entire session, Vanstippen pulled an extra stylish whip on his last attempt to clinch the silver medal in Moto X Best Whip at X Games Ventura 2024. Boom!
Vanstippen now owns four X Games medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze). Vanstippen's gold medal at X Games 2022 was the first by a Belgian athlete in X Games history.
Next up, follow the action on Saturday at X Games Ventura 2024 when the Monster Energy team steps up, ready to Unleash the Beast! Also, look forward to special live episodes of the sports and pop culture podcast UNLEASHED with The Dingo, Danny, and Brittney, Fueled by Monster Energy, streamed on Twitch from behind the scenes at X Games Ventura on June 29 from 11 a.m. to noon PT, and June 30 from noon to 1 p.m. PT.
Visit http://www.monsterenergy.com for exclusive updates from X Games Ventura 2024, including photos, videos, and contest results as they happen. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
About Monster Energy Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer 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.
