Monster Energy's Tom Schaar and Zack Warden Win Bronze in Skateboard and BMX Big Air Doubles X Games Austin 2015

Jun 08, 2015

Written by Bart de Jong

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The action at X Games Austin 2015 started on a high note today, as combined teams of skateboarders and BMX riders attacked the Mega Ramp in the new Big Air Doubles event. After a heated showdown blending the best of skate and BMX aerial stunts, Monster Energy’s Tom Schaar (Skateboard) and Zack Warden (BMX) walked away with X Games Bronze medals at Circuit of The Americas (COTA). A brand-new event debuting at X Games Austin 2015, Big Air Doubles features competing teams of one skateboarder and one

BMX rider battling it out on the Mega Ramp. Each round consists of one attempt per rider, combined into team scores – significantly adding to the challenge: Both riders in a team need to land their tricks to post high scores and take the win. If either rider misses, it hurts the overall score.

Coming off a solid Bronze medal finish at Friday night’s Skateboard Big Air event, 15-year-old Schaar opened with a perfect 360 backside ollie over the 63-foot gap into a backside melon 900 on the 27-foot high quarterpipe for a high individual score of 41 points. Monster teammate Warden followed with a highly difficult no-handed cork over the gap, but became unglued on a triple tail whip on the quarterpipe. On following runs, the team had trouble scoring successful attempts on the same run, leaving the victory to the team of Bob Burnquist and Morgan Wade.

"This week has been awesome,” said Warden. “A lot of progression happened on Mega Ramp and Tom came out and threw down on his first run — a phenomenal run that carried us all the way through. I managed to put something together—a backflip bike flip and just a tailwhip on the quarter to get something on the board. We ended up with a bronze and I'm more than happy with that, but hopefully Tom and I can come together next year and accomplish more."

Today’s Bronze finish marks Schaar’s 5th career X Games medal. At the 2013 X Games in Munich, he took home Bronze to become the youngest X Games Big Air medalist in contest series history, while last year’s X Games Austin added “youngest Big Air Gold medalist” to his growing list of accolades. With a recent victory at the 2015 Vans Pool Party contest in May, beating the men’s elite of deep transition skateboarders, Schaar proved that he is a fierce competitor and innovator in all age groups.

Two-time X Games BMX Big Air gold medalist Warden bagged his 6th career X Games medal today, after missing the 2014 X Games Austin due to an injury. A technical innovator known for pioneering the backflip bikeflip to late tailwhip combo, the 26-year-old takes inspiration from skateboard maneuvers like kickflips, which he adapts to his BMX repertoire.