Martin caps `chaotic week' with BMX win

VISTA » Logan Martin can depart Southern California in a much better mood after winning the BMX Park competition on Saturday afternoon on the fourth day of the summer X Games.

His arrival from Queensland, Australia last Sunday got off to a rough start when his bike, clothes and even his passport were stolen from his car in Vista that night.

His wife, Kimberley, scrambled to send over replacements and they arrived in time for him to take third in the BMX Dirt competition on Thursday. He followed with his third straight X Games gold medal in BMX Park.

“It’s been a chaotic week,” he said.

Martin also won gold in BMX Park in 2018 and 2019 in Minneapolis and has medaled all six times he has competed in the event at the X Games.

The event was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak, and Martin didn’t compete last year because he was preparing for the inaugural Men’s BMX freestyle event at the Tokyo Olympics, where he also won gold.

That helped make Martin the favorite heading into Saturday’s competition at the California Training Facility, but he sat in seventh place heading into the final run of the contest.

He proceeded to land a triple tailwhip, an opposite tailwhip with a flair, and a 540 flair to close his run. He impressed the judges enough to leap into first place.

“They made me work for it out here,” Martin said. “After my first run, I was sitting in fourth, crashed on my second run, but stoked to pull that third run and win another gold medal.”

Sky Brown, who turned 14 on July 8, defended her title in the women’s Skateboard Park competition. She joined fellow women’s skateboarder Brighton Zeuner as the only X Games athletes to win two gold medals before the age of 15.

Brown, who was born in Japan and represented Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics, fell on her first run but bolted into the lead on her second, nailing two 540s and an assortment of kickflips.

After completing her fourth and final run, Brown was still in the lead.

Sakura Yosozumi of Japan, who won an Olympic gold medal last summer, was the only remaining skater who could overtake her, but Yosozumi took a hard fall in the final seconds of her run and struck the back of her head on the concrete.

Yosozumi rolled on her side and remained motionless before being treated by the medical staff. She was evaluated at a local hospital, but later returned to the training center and posed for pictures with Brown.

Brown was unable to initially celebrate her victory and was visibly concerned for Yosozumi, later paying tribute to her friend and mentor.

“Skating with all these girls, it pushes me so much, especially Sakura,” Brown said. “She’s like one of my best friends and my biggest hero. So skating with her, she pushes me like crazy and I wouldn’t be here without her.”

Shane O’Neill of Melbourne, Australia posted the biggest upset of the day and possibly the week with his win in the men’s Skateboard Street contest.

O’Neill was in second place after the first of four runs, but saved his best for last and moved from third to first, overtaking Yuto Horigome of Japan and Vincent Milou of France.

Nyjah Huston, defending champion Dashawn Jordan and Horigome still had a chance to better O’Neill’s best score, but none succeeded.

Huston, who lives in Laguna Beach, couldn’t land his final trick on his last three runs and finished fifth, ending a streak of 19 straight X games events with a top-three finish.

Horigome, the Olympic gold medalist last summer in Tokyo, failed to land a kickflip with about eight seconds left in his 45-second run and remained in third. Milou took second.

Jamie Foy of Deerfield Beach, Fla., defended his title in the Skateboard Street Best Trick, winning with a fakie flip switch nosegrind.

Huston finished second after landing the kickflip rail slide that he was unable to complete in the street competition. Jordan took third.