Matt Buyten claims gold medal in Moto X Step Up contest – X Games 17 update
The first gold medal event of X Games 17, Moto X Step Up, went down at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 28.
Shattering an 11-year-old record, set by Florida Ronnie Renner in 2000 after clearing a 35 feet high bar, the defending champion Matt Buyten made history during the final of Moto X Step Up by clearing the bar set at a height of 37 feet to claim his fourth
gold medal.
The line-up for the final comprised of Buyten, Renner, Myles Richmond, Brian Deegan, Tommy Clowers and Todd Potter. Competing at one of the biggest platform of action sports, all six riders were determined to come up with their best performance and make
the night a memorable one.
As the contest kicked off, the bar was initially set at a height of 30 feet. None of the six riders had any problem in clearing the bar. Consequently, the bar was moved higher to make the jump more challenging. Even with the bar at 34 feet six inches, all
six riders cleared the jump to remain in contention for the gold medal.
As the bar was raised to the 35 feet six inches mark, it required riders to break Renner’s record in order to stay alive in the event. While Clowers and Potter failed to clear the bar on both their attempts, Deegan became the first one to break the standing
record, with Buyten, Richmond and Renner following suit.
The bar was then raised to 36 feet six inches. This time, Deegan and Richmond failed to best the challenge and ended up touching the bar on both their attempts to get eliminated from the competition. However, Buyten and Renner managed to overcome the challenge
to keep the battle for the gold running.
The bar was eventually raised to a heat of 37 feet, presenting the two riders with an even tougher challenge. This time, the task proved to be too much for Renner and he ended up getting eliminated after touching the bar on both his attempts.
It all came down to Buyten’s two attempts. The crowd sat at the edge of their seats as they waited to find out if the defending champion would be able to best the tough task of jumping over a 37 feet high bar. As it turned out, the 31-year-old managed to
overcome the daunting challenge, setting a new record and sealing the fate of the contest.
Talking to a reporter about his winning jump, Buyten said, “I was surprised. I figured people would start dropping at 31 or 32 feet and the next thing I knew we were at 35 and 36 and everybody was still in. I was like, 'Well, this is quite the situation.'”
Neither Buyten nor the crowd will be forgetting what they witnessed on Thursday night anytime soon. With four Moto X Step Up gold medals to his name, he has proved himself to be one of the most dominating riders in the discipline.
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