X Games 2021 Skateboarding Results
The X Games 2021 telecast scored a 1.3 household rating and 1.42 million HHs on ABC, up 9% from Winter X.
Australian Chloe Covell won gold in Women’s Skateboard Street, and at 12 years old is the youngest X Games gold medalist ever. Bob Burnquist won his 25th X Games medal in Skateboard Big Air.
Street
As the first skateboarding event to be featured in the X Games, Street features some of the most awe-inspiring skating you will ever see. The contest draws from both contemporary skateboarding’s flamboyant acrobatics and more disciplined gymnastics, as the competitors perform two 45-second runs and five single-trick attempts on the event’s biggest obstacles. Scores are accumulated over the course of each run, with a skater’s best two scores (plus the highest and lowest single-trick attempt) determining their final ranking.
152 skaters, representing 58 different countries, threw down on Thursday afternoon in qualifying, with the top 27 men and women progressing to the quarter-finals. There they will join the five pre-seeded skaters – including defending champion Nyjah Huston, Gustavo Ribeiro, Ginwoo Onodera and Aurelien Giraud. The best three performers in each heat will make the semi-finals, where they will be whittled down to just eight skaters who will compete in Sunday’s final. The 156 qualifiers were sifted through in a day that saw many of the world’s greatest big-rail grinders fall to their knees – but also showcased some of skateboarding’s more illustrious slappers.
Vert
The vert competition is a fast-paced and exciting competition that features skaters flying high above the ramp and performing complicated aerial maneuvers. Skaters are given a short amount of time, usually about a minute, to complete their runs and impress the judges.
The finals of the Men’s and Women’s Vert competition took place Thursday night at X Games Minneapolis. Rookie Liam Pace clinched the gold medal for the men with a great run that included backside Smith grinds, a kickflip indy, front side airs and a huge frontside 720.
Among the female skaters, pint-sized Australian Arisa Trew stunned the crowd with her last run to take home the silver medal. Her run was full of tricks including an alley-oop backside air, McTwist, body varial 540 and lein varial. She also landed a frontside fakie 720, making her the first woman to ever land this trick in competition. It was the highlight of a great contest.
Big Air
In the X Games Big Air event skaters take to a mega ramp to launch themselves into the air and complete tricks over it. The ramps vary in height and number of features, but are always designed to be as massive as possible. The event is the highest-profile of the X Games, and many of the world’s most famous athletes compete in it.
Spectators can watch the competition at various stadiums and arenas. The event is often held in conjunction with other sports, such as Moto X and Snowboard Big Air.
Bob Burnquist landed a fakie 5-0 kickflip off the grind bar in the final of Skateboard Vert Best Trick and won the gold medal. His legendary run is considered one of the greatest vert runs in X Games history.
Moto X
In addition to BMX and Skateboard, the new Moto X event features dirt bike riders taking on a high-air jump. Riders are required to perform multiple flips and tricks while in the air. Spectators watch from atop the ramps as riders try to land as many tricks in the air as possible, attempting to earn the highest score.
Last year, the first European X Games Qualifier took place in Barcelona, Spain. The athletes competed for three days in front of 35,500 fans. Some of the biggest moments of the weekend drove a significant increase in social media conversations. These included Ryan Williams’ Big Air backflip and Mitchie Brusco’s 1260 spin – feats never before seen in competition.
19-year-old Kelly Sildaru won her tenth X Games medal in Ski Big Air, making her the most-medaled teenager ever at the X Games. Former IndyCar champion Kenny Brack won Rally X gold in his first X Games appearance. And, Ashley Fiolek won a gold in Moto X Step Up and became the first deaf X Games medalist.
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