Sports
“I’m super stoked, no words to explain my feeling.”
NO wonder 12-year-old skateboarder Gui Khury was struggling to find a way describe the day he had on Friday.
Become the first person to land 1080 on a non-mega vert ramp? Check.
Land the first 1080 in competition? Check.
Become the youngest gold medallist at the X Games? Check.
Do it all while competing against skate legend Tony Hawk? Check.
The Brazilian teenager said beating his hero was “a special moment” after his feats at this year’s X Games in California.
In the Vert Best Trick competition, Khury became the first skater to land a 1080 – ‘the Holy Grail’ of skate tricks – on a non-mega vert ramp, which is not as steep as a mega vert ramp and means the skater gathers less momentum.
On a day of firsts, Khury also became the youngest gold medallist in the competition’s history.
One of his competitors also just happened to be 53-year-old Hawk, one of the most influential skateboarders of all time, who had retired from professional skateboarding in 2003 and was entering this year’s Best Trick competition for the first time since then.
Hawk is no stranger to making history himself. At the 1999 X Games, he pulled off the world’s first 900 on a non-mega vert ramp.
The 900 requires the skater to make two and a half rotations in mid-air.
Khury also made history when, aged just eight years old, he became the youngest ever person to complete a 900.
With his 1080, Khury went one better last week by doing three rotations in the air.
Khury wrote on social media afterwards: “I’m super stoked, no words to explain my feeling. Thank you X Games for this special moment.”
Hawk added his congratulations too.
Khury actually pulled off a 1080 in 2020, aged 11, on a mega vert ramp – don’t take your eyes off this kid!
BBC Sport
– July 20, 2021 @ 17:28 GMT /
Tags: 'I'm super stoked' - the 12-year-old skater who landed a 1080 and beat legend Tony Hawk
