Free Republic

18-year-old Meghan Rutledge was excited that she was on her way to her an easy Moto X gold medal win at the Summer X Games over the weekend when she made the decision to fist pump in celebration before the finish line. Unfortunately for Rutledge, that resulted in her coming down awkwardly on the bike and crashing as she watched her competitors fly by the finish line. After the race, Rutledge was devastated and she chalked the mistake up to young age. “I was out there leading. I’m really young. I’ve never led an X Games before. I celebrated a...

I heard today that a great young American motorcyclist, Racer, and "X game" Champion died after failing to complete a "Hart Attack" backflip in Costa Rica. Video of the crash has been posted on YouTube He has crashed in that (almost) exact same way several times before, without a severe injury. Link to another, better, story on it.

In a sports world where believing in yourself is an essential tool — you need that kind of faith before you can hit a three-rotation 1080 on a snowboard — the notion of believing in something bigger can be difficult to fathom. But a swelling corps of Jesus fans is making itself known in the inherently hedonistic world of extreme sports. At this year's Winter X Games in Aspen, born-agains sport Jesus stickers on their rides. They eschew the party scene that saddles just about all the action. They wade through the excesses, living a chaste life while pushing the...

LOS ANGELES, CA (TDR) - Officials of the X-Games tour announced today that a waterboarding event will be included in the next competition. The sport sparked the interest of the tour's governing body recently when it was banned for use by military intelligence.

Under the sweltering noontime sun, the most crowded spot at the opening day of the X Games in downtown Los Angeles today was not the mega ramp, where skateboarders take on a 48-foot, nearly vertical drop followed by a 50-foot jump across to another ramp. Nor was it the course where BMX bikers practiced for their competition later this evening. Today, the most coveted spot was the misting tent, or in front of the fans set up to blow water at hot spectators, or at the Saturn promotional tent, where cheery announcers promised to give away cold towels (and...

Ahhh ... Wednesday's warmup sessions. A day to test out timing over a 45-foot gap on a dirtbike. A day to test out timing over a 45-foot gap on a skateboard. A morning spent throwing backflips on a dirtbike. An afternoon spent throwing double backflips on a BMX bike. The live telecasts starts Thursday, but we bring you exclusive, behind-the-scenes video of the day-before hucking and chucking. And, just because we like you ... we set it all to music. Click here to watch video of yesterday's practice sessions.