Nitro Circus Athletes Clean Up at X Games
Press Release | October 28, 2018
Ryan Williams Earns His First X Games Gold
This is a press release from Nitro Circus…
Los Angeles, CA – As soon as the last stops of Nitro Circus’ North American ‘You Got This’ tour wrapped up, Nitro Circus athletes’ bags were packed, and they were en route to Sydney, Australia for the island continent’s first-ever X Games.
Ryan Williams’ (a.k.a. R-Willy) road to X Games has been a long one. At 8 years old, he started hitting the skate park religiously, initially on roller-blades and then graduating to scooters. In 2012, he received the call to come ride for Nitro Circus and that’s where he ultimately honed his BMX skills. On tour, Ryan landed his first “world’s-first” BMX trick, the Front Flip Inward. It was this trick that sparked the idea that one day he could compete in BMX at X Games. Fast forward to 2018, buzz had begun to build around Ryan’s skills on the mega ramp, and after a video of a potential podium run surfaced on YouTube, his invitation was inevitable. Ryan made his X Games debut in Minneapolis in July 2018 but having spent little time on the quarterpipe while on tour, he was unable to stomp his desired run. Intent on redemption, Ryan showed up to Sydney more determined than ever to take home a BMX Big Air medal. During finals, Ryan stomped his run that included a Nothing Front Bike Flip over the gap and a huge Front Flair on the quarter earning him gold.
In Moto, X Games veterans Jarryd McNeil and Josh Sheehan once again showed why they are among the best in the world. During Moto X Best Trick, Josh Sheehan reached into his seemingly endless bag of tricks and pulled out a No-Handed Double Backflip, which secured him a bronze medal in the event. Then in Moto X Freestyle Josh threw down a solid run including double flips, flip combos, and 360 combos earning him a silver-medal finish and bumping his number of X Games medals up to eight.