WATCH: Three Astonishing X-Games Moments That Created Tony Hawk, Shaun White, and Travis Pastrana

Published 05/16/2022, 9:45 AM EDT

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June 24, 1995. ESPN debuted an experimental international action sports event dubbed ‘Extreme Games.’ The first event saw 373 athletes take part in 39 disciplines, including skateboarding, BMX, and street luge. Over the years, it has become an enormous success. Tony Hawk, Ryan Sheckler, Sarah Burke, Leticia Bufoni, and many more have been a part of these games.

There have been many memorable moments throughout X games’ history from achieving impossible feats to displaying unparalleled excellence. Here are a few of the greatest moments from the event.

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Tony Hawk, Shaun White, and Travis Pastrana feature in the list

The brand has elevated the winter edition of these games and serves as a preview for the Winter Olympics. Over the years, X games have been a witness to some of the most iconic feats:

During the 2006 LA X games, Travis Pastrana took on a daunting challenge. He looked to become the first person ever to land a double backflip in the Moto X competition. The ‘199’ had the whole crowd behind him as he psyched up for the massive attempt. Not only did he do it, but Travis also landed flawlessly, sending everyone into an absolute frenzy!

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via Getty

Before becoming an Olympic legend, Shaun White was an X games star. Excelling in snowboarding and skateboarding, the American rarely gave his audience a reason to not cheer. During the 2012 X games, Shaun chased a three-peat in the skateboarding event. He became the first person to land a McTwist 1260, which helped him clinch his third consecutive title. Incidentally, the same move helped Shaun secure an Olympic gold too.

Have you noticed how we referred to Shaun as ‘X games star’? Well, that’s because of the next person. Tony Hawk, the GOAT, the X games God, a proper legend! In 1999, after failing in 10 attempts, Hawk attempted the fabled ‘900’ trick for the 11th time. With all the skateboarding fraternity behind him, Tony set off on the ramp and made history! He became the first person ever to land a 900 in competition. Oh, what a moment it was!

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Honorable mention: Bon Burnquist

Often being involved in a sport with a legend like Tony Hawk comes with a few cons. Many iconic feats get forgotten in pop culture due to the great man’s insane popularity (no one’s blaming Tony for anything though). One such performance came from another legend of the sport, Bon Burnquist.

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During the X games 7, Burnquist was in chase of the title. The man needed a score of 95.5 to win the title. And boy, oh boy, did he deliver! Bob threw down a nearly flawless vert run to take home the title. Many call it the greatest vert run of all time, and no one is arguing them over it.

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Written by:

Naman Gopal Srivastava

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Naman Gopal is a US Sports Writer at EssentiallySports. Naman is an Undergraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, with a minor’s degree in Cinematography from the Maharashtra Institute of Technology. An ardent fan of basketball and soccer, Naman was once a national level soccer player himself.
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