Skateboarding
X Games 2015 Austin: Silver is the new gold
The punishing Austin sun set the stage for a battle of the best to overthrow the reigning king.
Part of this story
Ryan Decenzo took a few pushes towards the probably 10-foot drop into a steep bank, a new obstacle at this year's X Games in Austin, Texas. He popped his tail as the crowd seemed to hold its collective breath. He’d been killing it all day, with the likes of Ryan Sheckler, Curren Caples, Chaz Ortiz, Torey Pudwill; but noticeably lower down the list was reigning champ Nyjah Huston. The board flipped perfectly as he handled one of the gnarlier tricks of the day, and Decenzo rolled down and qualified first place into the finals. The crowd responded.
Alec Majerus, Chaz Ortiz, Ryan Sheckler, Luan Oliveira and Nyjah Huston joined top qualifier Ryan Decenzo for the road to first- place gold, and what looked like perhaps the dethroning of Nyjah. That was until he took his first run, a whopping 93, almost 10 points above everyone else (where he not only stayed, but actually improved to a 94 on the second go around). It was over just as fast as it had begun, and the race for gold became a race for silver and bronze, which were taken home by Chaz Ortiz and Ryan Sheckler respectively.
It begged the question yet again, who will beat Nyjah?
Ryan Sheckler – Half Cab
© Sam McGuire
Paul Rodriguez – Backside Tailslide
© Sam McGuire
Ryan Decenzo – Kickflip
© Sam McGuire
Nyjah Huston – 180 Switch Crook
© Sam McGuire
Part of this story