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.
"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." - Kevin
Peraza
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.
Media Contact
Kimberly Paige Dresser, Indie
Agency, Inc., (949) 300-5546, kim.dresser@indiepragency.com,
https://www.indiepragency.com
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