When Jagger Eaton was younger, he looked up to his big brother Jett, skateboarding alongside him every day. Now that Jagger's an X Games star, he's passing that mentorship along.
Little brother does much more than just tag along at X Games
August 2, 2019 at 4:45AM
Koston Eaton, who just turned 11, is participating in Friday's Next X Skateboard Street competition for up-and-coming skaters. That's given him an opportunity to hang out with older brother Jagger, who will compete in Skateboard Street on Saturday and Skateboard Park on Sunday. Jagger, 18, won a silver medal in street last year.
Jagger Eaton has been an X Games regular since 2012, when he became the youngest competitor in the event's history at age 11. That record fell Thursday to Skateboard Vert athlete Gui Khury, 10. As a member of a close-knit clan, Jagger Eaton is a big fan of his little sibling, who already is showing off some impressive tricks.
"The progression I see from the kids is honestly really scary, because I mean, it's insane,'' Eaton said. "My favorite thing is, every day, I dedicate three or four hours to skating with my little brother. And he's a beast, to say the least. He's amazing.
"To see him out here competing, that's the best. And I have a little sister who's 5 and a little brother who's 3, who love skateboarding as well. If this keeps happening, I think we'll get the whole family in here.''
Larrin flips out
Mykel Larrin had twice won bronze medals at the X Games, both in BMX Big Air. Thursday, the popular rider from Racine, Wis., earned the same color in a different event.
Larrin, 31, pulled off a trick that had never been done at the X Games — a triple downside tail whip — to earn the bronze medal in BMX Vert. Before a supportive crowd at the Armory, he flew over the lip of the halfpipe, balanced himself on his handlebars and spun his bike three times while hanging in the air. The slick move helped Larrin to a second-run score of 88.66.
Vince Byron of Australia won his fourth gold medal in the event with a second-run score of 90.66. British rider Jamie Bestwick, 48, took silver with 89.33 points, earning his 19th X Games medal in BMX Vert.
Etc.
• The first full day of competition Thursday covered three venues. Elimination rounds of Skateboard Big Air, Women's Skateboard Street and BMX Dirt were at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Armory hosted finals of BMX Vert and Skateboard Vert, in which riders and skaters do tricks in a wood halfpipe.
The third event to award medals Thursday — Moto X Step Up — was held on a dirt ramp constructed outside the stadium, along Park Avenue near the light-rail station. Australia's Jarryd McNeil won that event, in which riders power up a vertical grade and try to clear a bar like high jumpers at a track meet. He cleared 40 feet on his second attempt, with room to spare.
McNeil became the first Moto X athlete to win four consecutive gold medals in a single discipline.
• American skaters swept the podium in Skateboard Vert. Jimmy Wilkins repeated as gold medalist, with Mitchie Brusco second and Clay Kreiner third.
The Armory is about to go a full year without having played host to boxing, the sport that helped ring in its return to relevance in downtown Minneapolis.
