By Leigh Ramsdell, Mongoose Sports Marketing Manager
Hard to believe that 2025 marked the 30th anniversary of X Games! Being a milestone year and taking place in a new city – Salt Lake City, Utah – there was no shortage of fanfare with over 10,000 fans onsite for the 3-day event. Best of all, Mongoose had two of our top athletes in Kevin Peraza and Nikita Ducarroz there to compete and show the world what they can do on a 20” BMX bike.
Fresh off bringing home his 7th X Games gold medal the previous week in Osaka, Japan, Kevin Peraza began the stateside event in Men’s BMX Street. For his first run of three, Kevin was on fire starting in third place. The next two runs saw a few riders complete stellar runs pushing Kevin out of podium position, but he threw down some great tricks and left the fans stoked.
On Day 2, Kevin competed in a stacked class for the Men’s BMX Park event. He started his first run with his signature moves, like the seat grab indi air and big flowing transfers. A few bobbles kept him off the podium, but as usual he left smiling and grateful for all his fan support.
Sunday was the final day for X Games, which was highlighted by Women’s BMX Park and the Dave Mirra BMX Best Trick events. Nikita kicked off the day in Women’s Park with a solid first run filled with moves like a stretched no-hander, barspin to X-up, and finishing the run with a 540 transfer! The next two runs didn’t go as planned, but she did try a big flair for first time at X Games. Although she slid out in her attempt, she left the competition healthy to pull it another day.
The final event of X Games Salt Lake City 2025 was the Best Trick comp, and Kevin was ready to unleash his unique moves. He ‘warmed up’ with tricks like a downside tailwhip flair, then moved on to what he really wanted to do. Kevin went for the steep quarter and pocket aired to the wallride—with a tailwhip in the middle of it! What made it even more impressive was this came after a pretty bad slam in his first attempt. I wasn’t sure he was going to come back and try it again, but after shaking it off Kevin came out and pulled it perfectly and the crowd went crazy! The 8th Gold Medal for Mr. Peraza and 13th medal overall.
That ended X Games, but of course, everyone left the event pumped up and inspired by the athletes. Let’s do it again next year!
