BMX Dirt was introduced at the first X Games (then called the Extreme Games) at Fort Adams in Newport, R.I., in 1995. Dirt riders such as Jimmy Levan entered wearing mock KISS makeup, but the first BMX Dirt gold medal ultimately went to Canadian Jay Miron, followed by Taj Mihelich (silver) and Joey Garcia (bronze). The dirt jumps in Newport were at the top left of this photo.
T.J. Lavin, seen here at the Philadelphia X Games in 2001, was a dirt staple from the late '90s through the mid '00s. During Lavin's BMX Dirt tenure, he took bronze three times, silver once and gold two times. Here Lavin keeps it mellow with a suicide no-hander. He earned a bronze medal that year, behind silver medalist Ryan Nyquist and gold medalist Stephen Murray.
Jerry Bagley emerged from the New England scene in the late '90s and competed on the professional dirt circuit for several years. Although he never medaled at X Games, his presence was a given at every dirt event in the U.S. Here, Bagley one-hand x-ups a set during X Games Vll in Philadelphia.
From his early days on Mosh to the last BMX Dirt comp at X Games in 2006, Mike Aitken was on top of the roll-in throwing down a mixture of stylish 360 variations and a desire to 180 the final set of the jumps on the dirt course. Here, Aitken twists a lookback at X Games lX in 2003.
From left to right: Ryan Nyquist (silver), Stephen Murray (gold) and T.J. Lavin (bronze).
Stephen Murray won X Games gold in Philadelphia in 2001, and continued to compete in the following years. Here, Murray casually whips a set during prelims for X Games lX. Murray was seriously injured in 2007 during a dirt contest, but remains a part of the BMX scene as a symbol of strength and hope. Stay strong.
After the X Games moved to Los Angeles, the dirt courses shifted from being inside the Staples Center to traveling down the 405 to the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. This particular year, 2003, the jumps were perfectly sculpted inside the Staples Center, far from wind or southbound L.A. traffic.
Before he was a technical street wizard, Ryan "Biz" Jordan burst onto the scene as a consistent dirt rider, first for Huffy and later for Schwinn. Here, Jordan makes good use of the Philly dirt course in 2001.
Philadelphia pros, including BMX dirt legend Tim "Fuzzy" Hall, gather atop the dirt roll-in in 2001.
In 1998, Brian Foster (a pro racer at the time) received an invite to BMX Dirt at X Games and 360 transferred the biggest transfer of the dirt course to take his first gold medal at X Games. BF's bib number for the occasion: 360. Many years later, BF, seen here at the Home Depot Center at X Games X, remained a part of the X Games dirt lineup.
BMX Dirt podium at X Games 2002, from left to right -- Ryan Nyquist (silver), Allan Cooke (gold) and Chris Doyle (bronze).
With effortless style, a deep bag of tricks and a humble attitude, Australia's Corey Bohan took home a handful of gold medals during his tenure as a BMX Dirt competitor. At X Games XII in 2006, the last time BMX Dirt was in the X Games, Bohan took the gold medal with ease.
If there was a BMX Dirt event at X Games, Ryan Nyquist was typically in the top three placings once everything was said and done. To date, Nyquist has eight medals from X Games Dirt, including two golds.
From left to right, Ryan Nyquist with yet another silver medal, Corey Bohan with the gold medal and newcomer Anthony Napolitan with the bronze medal.
The athletes, events and venues from the X Games in Barcelona all captured on the new Samsung Galaxy S4.
Wander through the streets of Barcelona through the lens of X Games skateboard judge Neal Hendrix
Go behind the scenes with Nyjah Huston's shoot for ESPN The Magazine in Barcelona, Spain
View the gallery again.
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BMX Dirt was introduced at the first X Games (then called the Extreme Games) at Fort Adams in Newport, R.I., in 1995. Dirt riders such as Jimmy Levan entered wearing mock KISS makeup, but the first BMX Dirt gold medal ultimately went to Canadian Jay Miron, followed by Taj Mihelich (silver) and Joey Garcia (bronze). The dirt jumps in Newport were at the top left of this photo.
T.J. Lavin, seen here at the Philadelphia X Games in 2001, was a dirt staple from the late '90s through the mid '00s. During Lavin's BMX Dirt tenure, he took bronze three times, silver once and gold two times. Here Lavin keeps it mellow with a suicide no-hander. He earned a bronze medal that year, behind silver medalist Ryan Nyquist and gold medalist Stephen Murray.
Jerry Bagley emerged from the New England scene in the late '90s and competed on the professional dirt circuit for several years. Although he never medaled at X Games, his presence was a given at every dirt event in the U.S. Here, Bagley one-hand x-ups a set during X Games Vll in Philadelphia.
From his early days on Mosh to the last BMX Dirt comp at X Games in 2006, Mike Aitken was on top of the roll-in throwing down a mixture of stylish 360 variations and a desire to 180 the final set of the jumps on the dirt course. Here, Aitken twists a lookback at X Games lX in 2003.
From left to right: Ryan Nyquist (silver), Stephen Murray (gold) and T.J. Lavin (bronze).
Stephen Murray won X Games gold in Philadelphia in 2001, and continued to compete in the following years. Here, Murray casually whips a set during prelims for X Games lX. Murray was seriously injured in 2007 during a dirt contest, but remains a part of the BMX scene as a symbol of strength and hope. Stay strong.
After the X Games moved to Los Angeles, the dirt courses shifted from being inside the Staples Center to traveling down the 405 to the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. This particular year, 2003, the jumps were perfectly sculpted inside the Staples Center, far from wind or southbound L.A. traffic.
Before he was a technical street wizard, Ryan "Biz" Jordan burst onto the scene as a consistent dirt rider, first for Huffy and later for Schwinn. Here, Jordan makes good use of the Philly dirt course in 2001.
Philadelphia pros, including BMX dirt legend Tim "Fuzzy" Hall, gather atop the dirt roll-in in 2001.
In 1998, Brian Foster (a pro racer at the time) received an invite to BMX Dirt at X Games and 360 transferred the biggest transfer of the dirt course to take his first gold medal at X Games. BF's bib number for the occasion: 360. Many years later, BF, seen here at the Home Depot Center at X Games X, remained a part of the X Games dirt lineup.
BMX Dirt podium at X Games 2002, from left to right -- Ryan Nyquist (silver), Allan Cooke (gold) and Chris Doyle (bronze).
With effortless style, a deep bag of tricks and a humble attitude, Australia's Corey Bohan took home a handful of gold medals during his tenure as a BMX Dirt competitor. At X Games XII in 2006, the last time BMX Dirt was in the X Games, Bohan took the gold medal with ease.
If there was a BMX Dirt event at X Games, Ryan Nyquist was typically in the top three placings once everything was said and done. To date, Nyquist has eight medals from X Games Dirt, including two golds.
From left to right, Ryan Nyquist with yet another silver medal, Corey Bohan with the gold medal and newcomer Anthony Napolitan with the bronze medal.
