The 21st X Games began Day 1 with a brand new event and ended the night with a back-to-back gold medalist.
Harley-Davidson Flat Track racing made its X Games debut at a challenging course at the Circuit of the America’s track. The 3/8-mile long oval track saw 24 racers battle for the first ever Harley-Davidson Flat Track gold medal. Needing a final turn push to the lead, Kawasaki racer Bryan Smith took home the first ever X Games Harley-Davidson Flat Track racing gold medal.
“I just leaned into the throttle on the last corner and went for it,” Smith said. “To survive this course here at X Games and to come home with the first-ever X Games gold medal in medal in my sports, it’s a dream come true really.”
Under the lights of the Texas State Capital Building, the men of Moto X Step Up took to the downtown streets in front of a packed crowd where Ronnie Renner took the gold, winning back-to-back here at X Games Austin and winning his seventh career gold medal.
“It was such a great competition,” Renner said. “Everyone was really going for it and I just had to keep telling myself that it was time to get myself together and go win this. I was really looking for a solid line to climb up the wall and it was really slippery. I never thought that when I started watching X Games 20 years ago that I would not only win an X Games gold medal, but seven of them is just a huge blessing to me.”
X Games continues through Sunday and can be seen on ESPN and ABC.