Taka Higashino claims Moto X Freestyle gold at X Games Foz do Iguaçu
Japan’s Taka Higashino walked away with the coveted gold medal after wowing the crowd in the final event of X Games Foz do Iguaçu, Moto X Freestyle, which went down in Brazil on Sunday, April 21, 2013.
The Japanese rider was accompanied on the podium by Australia’s Rob Adelberg and America’s Wes Agee, who took home the silver and bronze medal respectively for their exciting performances during the final.
The nine-man final that went down on Sunday evening promised plenty of thrill and excitement, an understandable expectation considering the Freestyle Motocross (FMX) riders that were in contention for the top honours.
With the podium reserved for top-three performers, every single finalist was expected to push himself beyond his limit and put his fearless and gravity-defying riding and tricks on display in a bid to impress the crowd and most importantly the judges.
Higashino, the X Games Los Angeles 2012 Moto X Freestyle champion, was no stranger to a stage as big as the X Games and therefore was oozing with confidence as he prepared himself to out-perform his rivals.
In his first hit, the Japanese rider introduced a corked front flip to the Moto X Freestyle competition at X Games. The trick was executed with such perfection that the judges had no hesitation in awarding it an average score of 91.66.
The trick and resulting score kept him in the lead over the likes of Adelberg, Agee, current leader on the 2013 International Motorcyclist Federation (FIM) MX World Championship circuit David Rinaldo from France, Czech rider Libor Podmol, Brazilian riders Gilmar Flores and Fred Kyrillos, and last but not the least, Australian rider Jackson ‘Jacko’ Strong, who suffered a serious crash after under-rotating a cliff-hanger back-flip during his third hit.
"I feel like it's not true, like I'm still sleeping," Higashino said in a breathless podium interview after the competition. "It's crazy. This is fantastic."
Adelberg made it to the podium for the first time in his three X Games appearance, courtesy of an 88.66 score off his first run, while Agee scored an 87.33 off his first run to clinch the bronze medal.
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