Jamie Bestwick creates history with a five-peat in BMX Freestyle Vert – X Games 17 Update
The X Games 17 action continued in Los Angeles with the final of the BMX Freestyle Vert at Nokie Centre on Friday, July 29.
After a nail-biting contest, Jamie Bestwick became the first athlete to five-peat at an X Games event, after collecting his eighth overall BMX Vert gold medal. Australia’s Steve McCann took runner-up place on the podium to take home the silver medal, while
his compatriot Vince Byron clinched the bronze to round out the podium.
Despite a few crashes in the qualifying round, the 40-year-old Bestwick made his way into the final to face McCann, Byron, California’s Simon Tabron and Florida’s Jimmy Walker for the top honours.
At the age of 40, the State College-based rider was bound to feel the impact of the crashes and it kept him from digging deep into his bag of tricks during the final. Despite the handicap, he managed to come up with two exceptional runs, featuring a string
of rarely seen stunts thrown in succession, to earn a 47 and 45 in them and finishing with a combined total of 92. The score remained unbeatable till the end and carried him off to the top of the podium for the fifth consecutive year to create history.
“The four-peat, or five-peat, when you get there, it's an awesome feeling,” Bestwick said, after the final. “But for me, the best feeling is riding against the best guys in the world. The medals, they're great, but this moment -- I'll never forget this moment
because there were so many good things about today that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
The 28-year-old McCann, who had collected gold medal in BMX Freestyle Big Air final on Thursday night, found a place on the podium once again. He threw two really impressive runs, which included a second-ever no-handed 900 in a competition, to earn a score
of 45 in both and finished with a combine total of 90 to take home the silver medal.
Australia’s 21-year-old Byron left the crowed awe-struck with a 540 double tail-whip in a run that earned him a 42. However, he was unable to follow it up with an equally impressive run and only managed to earn a second-best score of 37 to finish with a
combine total of 79. He got to take home the bronze medal for his effort, making it his second medal in two nights, earning a silver medal in BMX Freestyle Big Air a night ago.
California’s 37-year-old Tabron gave everyone a scare after crashing head-first during his run. The same fate was shared by the 40-year-old Walker, forcing both the riders to pull out of the final half-way through. Tabron finished in fourth place with a
combine total of 69, while Walker finished fifth with a score of 60.
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