Heath Frisby wins gold and makes history with the first ever front snowmobile flip at the 2012 Winter X Games. Photo by Mark Kohlman/ESPN.
E3 Spark Plugs sends big props to Colten Moore and Heath Frisby for their winning rides at the Winter X Games, which wrapped this weekend in Aspen, Colorado. Moore took the gold in the Snowmobile Freestyle event. And Frisby added a second Snowmobile Best Trick gold medal to his collection of seven Winter X Games medals.
Both wins were surprises. Many fans were shocked to see Moore make it into the finals, after a spectacular crash during the first heat of the elimination round. He let go of a double crab in midair and hit the ground, ducking his head and flipping onto his back in the nick of time. Chalk it up to the impressive aerial awareness he’s developed via exhaustive training over a foam pit and a decade of riding ATV quads.
Moore shored up his win with some serious FMX-styled tricks including a cordova backflip and a superflip Indian air. His skill and showmanship racked up a top score of 93.66, which he immediately celebrated by Tebowing in the snow.
“I knew I had to come out here and stomp the best run of my life, and that’s just what I did,” said a breathless Moore just after his winning run. “I’ve never rode so good in my life. I’m so pumped right now I can’t even breathe.”
Joe Parsons won the event’s silver medal and Moore’s brother, Caleb Moore, took home the bronze. Both Moore brothers are relatively new to snowmobiling, first taking up the sport only three years ago.
Heath Frisby delivered another big surprise, handily winning the gold and making sport history by pulling off the first ever frontflip on a snowmobile. He and his team tried to keep hush about his best trick competition plans, but word got out early in the afternoon. So, Frisby confirmed his plans – and worked up some serious fan hype – by posting a YouTube video of himself completing the trick over a foam pit in a practice run.
Frisby perfectly nailed the trick in his first of two runs. The feat proved impressive enough to beat Moore’s tsunami Indian flip and Parsons’ no-footed can-can backflip. Even more impressive than his history-making trick and top score is the fact that Frisby had the nerve to go for it just moments after seeing competitor and friend Justin Hoyer wipe out in a failed double backflip attempt and get carted off on a stretcher.
“Guys, it’s alright. I’ve been waiting a year to do this,” Frisby told concerned onlookers after seeing a video replay of Hoyer’s wicked crash. “I am my own deal. This is a totally different trick and I’m ready.”
Within minutes, he proved those words to an instantly whipped-up crowd and got an on-field onslaught of high-fives from fellow competitors.
E3 Spark Plugs congratulates Moore, Frisby and all the winners at this year’s Winter X Games. If you plan to hit the slopes soon yourself, make sure you stock your sled with a set of E3 snowmobile spark plugs for a competition-worthy ride.
Check out Frisby’s history-making flip…
And Moore’s gold-winning, FMX-styled run…
