Monster Energy Dominates X Games

For the opening night on Thursday, July 19, more than 14,000 spectators watched the Skateboard Vert and BMX Vert finals on the 14-foot ramp outside the U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. BMX trailblazer Jamie Bestwick won silver, his 19^th career X Games medal. Bestwick’s standout performance brought his medal count to 14 gold medals, 4 silver and 1 bronze, and set the tone for an epic weekend.

On Friday, the second day of X Games kicked the action into high gear as more than 35,000 spectators flooded into the stadium. In Dave Mirra’s BMX Park Best Trick Final, Monster Energy teamrider Alex Nikulin made history by landing in third place and becoming the first Russian athlete to place top three at X Games in over fifteen years. In Friday’s BMX Big Air event, all eyes were on James Foster as he defended last year’s gold medal. Rising to the challenge, Foster brought the house down with a never-done before quadruple downside tailwhip on the quarterpipe for the win.

Monster Energy’s motocross dominance continued on Saturday, as over 47,000 spectators followed the day’s action at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Starting the day on a high note, the Moto X Step Up event saw Jarryd McNeil repeat last year’s gold medal performance by blasting an aerial over the staggering 43-foot mark. Having dominated the event since 2016 he is now officially on a three-year winning streak.

When the action moved into Moto X Best Whip, the Monster team achieved a full-on podium sweep as Jarryd McNeil kept his momentum to claim gold with a massive seat-bounce Whip, joined by Genki Watanabe claiming silver and Axell Hodges taking bronze. Rounding out a spectacular performance for Monster Energy’s motocross team, Jackson Strong went blow-for-blow with the world elite of freestyle riders in Monster Energy Moto X Best Trick and took home gold by landing a highly technical no-handed front flip.

Overall, Monster Energy dominated in motocross with a total of four gold, two silver and one bronze medal. The weekend’s double gold medal strike increased McNeil’s record to 11 medals, including six gold medals. Strong now boasts four gold and three silver medals and rookie pro Axell Hodges has four medals.

In Saturday’s BMX Dirt event, 23-year-old Monster Army’s Brian Fox put together a highly progressive run to claim a bronze medal in what was only his second X Games appearance to date.

The podium spots continued in Skateboard Park where Monster’s Tom Schaar claimed his eighth X Games medal by winning bronze in a highly contested field of the world’s best park terrain riders. His Monster Energy teammate and 17-year-old rookie Trey Wood caused an upset in the epic Skateboard Big Air final by pulling a mute 720 over the channel into a highly technical backside 540 varial on the quarterpipe for a bronze medal finish that had the crowd on its feet.

Sunday’s action kicked off with the weekend’s final motorized sports event: For the first indoor edition of Harley-Davidson Flat Track racing, the stadium crew transformed the motocross course into a tight racing track. Monster Energy’s Jared Mees felt right in his element and claimed the gold medal in a field of the world’s elite Flat Track racers, which marks his second career gold in just three X Games appearances.

Wrapping up the weekend’s skateboard action, Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street saw Nyjah Huston return to winning form after a recent knee injury. Battling the world street skating elite on a demanding course, the 23-year old landed a perfect run featuring a highly technical nollie frontside heelflip nosebluntslide to claim gold. This marks Huston’s eighth career Skateboard Street gold medal, the most out of any rider in X Games history.

In the final action sports event of the weekend, Australia’s Kyle Baldock claimed the bronze medal in BMX Park after landing a perfect routine including difficult moves such as a high-flying flair double tail whip.

Monster Energy also brought in noncompeting Monster Energy athletes and personalities to meet and greet with fans and enjoy a weekend at X Games Minneapolis. The squad included Luke ‘Dingo’ Trembath, hosting Facebook live, as well as Blake “Bilko” Williams and Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, who hosted FB Live Motocross. Snowboarders Chloe Kim, Sage Kotsenburg, Sebbe De Buck, Zak Hale and Jamie Anderson also made appearances on-site and in live television broadcasts.