There were two gold medals given out at the Lifeproof Moto X Step Up competition. The Austin, Texas event saw Jarryd McNeil and Libor Podmol share the gold.
Both competitors cleared 33 feet. However, they couldn’t clear the 33.6 feet jump.
McNeil and Podmol were given two opportunities each to clear 33.6. Either was close in doing so.
“I wanted to do it one more time, because this is awesome,” Podmol said.
It’s the first gold medal for McNeil in this competition. The X Games interviewer said that he was in this event in 2011; however, he corrected her.
“Yeah, I haven’t competed in this event before,” he said. “It was awesome.”
Besides the dual golds to McNeil and Podmol, a silver medal was given to Italian rider Massimo Bianconcini. He cleared 32 feet.
Ronnie Renner, who was favored, but wasn’t acting like it, finished tied for fourth. Rennie and Bryce Hudson cleared 30 feet.
It’s the first-time since 2002 that Renner finished outside of the top three in this event. In Philadelphia, he finished in fourth place.
Matt Buyten said that this will be his last competition before retiring. He finished tied for sixth place, along with Nate Adams, who both cleared 28 feet.
It’s the second goal medal for both McNeil and Podmol. McNeil also won MTX Best Whip in Austin last year.
Podmol’s first gold came at the X Games Munich (Germany) in 2013 when he won MTX Step Up.
