X Games: Chloe Covell and Arisa Trew win gold in women’s skateboarding

VENTURA — Chloe Covell and Arisa Trew took their friendship to another level on Saturday afternoon.

The 13 year olds from Australia won their first Summer X Games gold medals in their respective skateboard events, highlighting a day filled with next-level innovation and emotion at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

Covell began the day by winning the women’s skateboard street competition, posting the winning score on her final run to overtake 14-year old Liz Akama of Japan.

Covell finished atop a field of eight that included 15-year-old Momiji Nishiya of Japan, the Olympic gold medalist in the event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and 30-year-old Leticia Bufoni of Brazil, who has been competing in the X Games since before Covell was born.

“Really stoked that I got this win,” said Covell, the youngest X Games gold medalist in women’s skateboard street history.

A few hours later, Trew won the women’s vert contest after landing a 720 for her last trick on her final run. The successful trick allowed Trew to overtake 10-year-old Reece Nelson of Canada, who became the youngest X Games medalist ever.

Last month, Trew became the first female to land a 720 in competition when she completed the double revolution at an event in Salt Lake City.

“She’s insane,” Covell said of Trew. “Girls’ skateboarding is really going to the next level.”

On the men’s side, Brady Baker also joined the X Games youth movement when he won the BMX dirt competition on the final run of the event.

A day earlier, the 20-year-old from Toms River, N.J. surprised many when he emerged as the top qualifier out of 16 competitors in the event. The X Games rookie then outperformed seven other seasoned veterans on the four-jump layout to win the final.

Baker’s rivals were the first to rush out to celebrate, chanting his name before lifting him onto their shoulders after his winning score was announced.

“To get here and have this thing around my neck, it’s unreal,” said Baker, who competed in his first pro event in April.

Because he was the top qualifier, Baker went last on each of the three runs.

After the first two, Baker was in second place behind Ryan Williams, who already won gold in the BMX MegaPark event on Thursday.

Before Baker’s final run, Williams walked out to the front of the drop-in ramp and cheered him on from below.

“I had a good idea what I was going to do,” Baker said of his final run. “I dropped in and, on that first hit, my pedals moved a little bit, so I stuck my foot out, caught it a little different and in between the jumps I was, ‘I don’t have the speed,’ so I went for a cash roll bar spin.”

Baker completed that trick, but still had two jumps remaining.

While practicing in a foam pit the past couple months, he attempted a trick called a cash roll downside whip, but Baker had never attempted the maneuver on dirt.

He decided it was now or never.

“After I made (the second jump) I was, ‘OK, well I need something big here,’ so I pulled out a trick I’ve been working on in the foam pit for months,” he said. “To pull it here at X Games is unreal. I’ve been working so hard for this moment and to have the gold medal, it’s unreal.”

Williams, who has been wearing the helmet of his best friend, Luke Burland, who died at the end of May, went on to win his second gold medal of these X Games in the BMX Best Trick.

After the victory, he donated his prize money to the family of Pat Casey, a fellow BMX pro who was killed in a motocross accident last month.

“I wish he was here dropping in with us,” Williams said of Casey. “The contest would have been even crazier.”

Colby Raha of Palmdale won his third straight MotoX quarterpipe high air competition. He also waited until his final run to soar 56 feet 3 inches, topping the mark of 55-7 set one jump earlier by Corey Creed of Australia.

Jose Torres became the first X Games athlete from Argentina to win a medal when he took first in BMX park.

Torres edged out Kevin Peraza of Tucson. who won his first X Games gold medal in BMX street the day before.

Marcus Christopher of Canton, Ohio sustained a head injury after taking a hard spill at the bottom of the pool during his run in BMX park and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Jagger Eaton of Mesa, Ariz. won the men’s skateboard park event, edging out Keegan Palmer of San Diego.