Monster Energy Athletes Sweep the Podium and Claim Gold Medals on Day 2 of X Games New Orleans 2026
- Men’s Skateboard Park: 26-Year-Old Tom Schaar from Malibu, California, Takes Gold Medal, 15-Year-Old Monster Army Recruit Egoitz Bijueska from Bilbao, Spain, Earns Bronze
- BMX Park Best Trick: 32-Year-Old Ryan Williams from Australia Claims Gold Medal
- BMX Dirt: Monster Energy Riders Sweep Podium with Brady Baker Taking Gold, Mike Varga Silver and Ryan Williams Bronze
- Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street: 24-Year-Old Toa Sasaki from Mie, Japan, Clinches Silver
- Women’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick: 19-Year-Old Asahi Kaihara from Osaka, Japan, Earns Silver, 15-Year-Old Mizuho Hasegawa from Ibaraki, Japan, Takes Bronze
- Men’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick: 26-Year-Old Tom Schaar Claims Silver, 17-Year-Old Monster Army Rider JD Sanchez from Pleasanton, California, Takes Bronze
NEW ORLEANS, July 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The XGL Championship heats up on day two! Monster Energy congratulates its team of action sports athletes on a strong performance on the second day of X Games New Orleans 2026. On Saturday, Monster Energy riders claimed a total of eleven medals (three gold, four silver, and four bronze) across six contest events at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
From July 24–26, MoonPay X Games New Orleans 2026 marks the first championship event of the new MoonPay X Games League (XGL) 2026 Summer Season. Supported by Monster Energy as an X Games League Founding Partner, XGL is the world’s first year-round, team-based, co-ed league in action sports, where city-based clubs and individual athletes rack up points across the season for a shot at the championship decided this weekend!
The Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick saw 32-year-old Ryan Williams from Sunshine Coast, Australia, unleash a unique trick creation to claim the gold medal. The team swept the entire BMX Dirt podium with 23-year-old Brady Baker from Toms River, New Jersey, claiming the gold medal, 29-year-old Mike Varga from Oshawa, Canada, in the silver medal position, and Williams taking bronze. Men’s Skateboard Park concluded with 26-year-old Tom Schaar from Malibu, California, clinching the gold medal. Also rising to the podium, 15-year-old Monster Army recruit Egoitz Bijueska from Bilbao, Spain, took bronze.
The down-to-the-wire Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street concluded with 24-year-old Toa Sasaki from Mie, Japan, taking silver. In Men’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick Schaar claimed silver on his final attempt. He was joined on the podium by 17-year-old Monster Army rider JD Sanchez from Pleasanton, California, taking bronze. In Women’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick, 19-year-old Asahi Kaihara from Osaka, Japan, claimed silver. Also rising to the podium, 15-year-old Mizuho Hasegawa from Ibaraki, Japan, took home bronze to tie the female athlete record for most Summer X Games medals at twelve medals.
Here’s how the action unfolded for team Monster Energy on day two of X Games New Orleans 2026:
Men’s Skateboard Park: Tom Schaar Claims The Gold Medal, Egoitz Bijueska Takes Bronze
On Saturday night, the Men’s Skateboard Park final escalated into a spectacular showdown all the way to final runs. In an elite field, Schaar dropped in looking to improve on his silver medal in the discipline from X Games Chiba, and earned his fifth career X Games gold!
Amid rising competition, Schaar landed a perfect second run featuring a frontside 50-50 transfer the corner ledge, backside tailslide the deep end, kickflip Indy the center, backside 50-50 hip transfer, transfer frontside nosegrind the corner, frontside 360 stalefish the center, huge transfer ollie, backside 540 tailgrab, 50-50 transfer, backside 360 nosegrab the center, blindside kickflip Indy fakie the channel, fakie rock transfer the spine, and switch blunt in the deep end for 93.80 points and the gold medal.
“This is amazing, thank you, everyone, for coming out. Everyone skated really good. Thank you, New Orleans!” said Monster Energy’s Schaar upon claiming Men’s Skateboard Park gold at X Games New Orleans 2026.
Schaar faced close competition from X Games Chiba gold medalist Bijueska. After struggling to get the perfect line, Bijueska put down a perfect third run featuring switch lien 180 the center, 50-50 spine transfer, alley-oop heelflip Indy, backside tailslide the corner, kickflip body varial McTwist, kickflip Indy disaster, and backside kickflip 360 Indy over the center for 86.20 points and third place.
This caps off a successful debut X Games season for Bijueska after claiming silver at X Games Sacramento and the Chiba gold medal. He now owns 3 X Games medals (one gold, one silver, one bronze).
Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick: Ryan Williams Clinches Gold with Innovative Move
The team earned the first victory of the day in the heavily contested Dave Mirra BMX Park Best Trick final. In a jam session featuring eight of the most innovative riders on the circuit, Ryan Williams dropped in with a score to settle: After claiming gold in the discipline at X Games Sacramento, Williams finished off the podium at X Games Chiba. Now “R-Willy” wanted the crown back!
Amid rising trick difficulty levels, Williams brought his own unique trick creation to the course and landed it after two attempts to claim the gold medal! On Run 3, Williams landed his signature alley-oop frontflip 540 flair, known as the “Oliver Twist,” in front of an enthusiastic New Orleans crowd. And like that, Williams claimed his second gold medal of the 2026 XGL season.
“Yes! We got it done! We got it done with the Oliver Twist for the gold!” said an elated Williams upon claiming the BMX Park Best Trick gold medal in New Orleans. And he had another medal event lined up with BMX Dirt soon afterward.
Men’s BMX Dirt: Full Podium Sweep for Team Monster Energy with Brady Baker (Gold), Mike Varga (Silver), and Ryan Williams (Bronze)
On Saturday night, BMX Dirt unfolded as perhaps the most mind-boggling BMX final in X Games history in a festival atmosphere at the Superdome. As several riders threw down career-best performances, Brady Baker from New Jersey remained in a league of his own: From the first run onward, Baker took over the top spot and kept increasing his score all the way to clinching the gold medal. During the live broadcast, X Games commentator Scotty Cranmer pronounced Baker, “the best BMX dirt jumper in the world.”
In the intense final on the dirt course, Baker already cemented his victory with a score of 95.40 points on the second run. But he had a special trick queued up to take Run 3 to new heights: Putting together back-to-back Twister tailwhip, cash roll to tail windshield wiper, and 360 kickless rewind superman tailwhip earned Baker 96.00 points and the gold medal in a dominant showing.
“These are the biggest jumps I have ever ridden. And to do it in New Orleans in front of these fans, I’m so stoked. Let’s go!” said Baker upon claiming BMX Dirt gold at X Games New Orleans 2026.
Baker just made history as the first BMX athlete to claim four gold medals in BMX Dirt. He now owns seven X Games medals (four gold, three silver).
As the action on the three dirt jumps intensified, Mike Varga rose to the challenge to put down a heater of a run for the silver medal. On his third attempt, Varga strung together a heavy-hitting line of Backflip bar spin, double tailwhip, 720 barspin to bar spin, 720 double whip for 93.00 points and silver.
Varga now owns seven X Games medals (four gold, one silver, two bronze).
Battling all the way to the final run, Ryan Williams revisited his rivalry with Brady Baker and dropped in as the final rider of the night with a chance to steal the win. But ultimately, Williams lost the handle on Run 3 and walked away with the bronze medal on the strength of his highest-scoring run.
On Run 2, Williams posted his highest score with a line featuring double backflip tailwhip, frontflip kickless tailwhip, cash roll for 92.00 points.
Williams now owns 18 X Games medals (14 gold, three silver, one bronze). Stay tuned on Sunday as Baker, Varga, and Williams battle it out one more time at X Games New Orleans in BMX Dirt Best Trick!
Men’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick: Tom Schaar Claims Silver Medal, Monster Army Rider JD Sanchez Takes Bronze
The crowd witnessed next-level skateboard moves in the Men’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick final. In a field of the world’s most innovative riders, four-time X Games gold medalist Tom Schaar was looking for a career-first: Although Schaar owned 20 medals going into the event, he never reached a podium in Best Trick. Time for a change!
After battling a technical lip trick for the entire 20-minute session, Schaar locked in the landing on his final attempt: A flawless alley-oop kickflip backside lipslide revert earned Schaar the silver medal in the heated trick battle.
Schaar now owns 22 X Games medals (five gold, six silver, eleven bronze).
One of Schaar’s closest competitors was Monster Army rider JD Sanchez. Keeping his composure in the trick-for-trick showdown, Sanchez put down a unique varial double kickflip Indy 540 for the bronze medal.
Sanchez now owns five X Games medals (three silver, two bronze).
Also stoking the crowd at X Games New Orleans, three-time X Games gold medalist Edouard Damestoy from France returned to competition ready to throw down: On his first attempt, Damestoy landed a frontside Rodeo one-foot and put down a difficult backside 720 Indy fakie for sixth place in the world-class final.
Women’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick: Asahi Kaihara Takes Silver Medal, Mizuho Hasegawa Earns Bronze
The rapid technical progression of the sport was on full display in Women’s Skateboard Vert Best Trick. In the 20-minute contest judged on the single best trick, Asahi Kaihara dropped in fresh off earning bronze in Skateboard Vert the previous night, and she brought a highly evolved move to claim the silver medal.
In front of the high-energy New Orleans crowd, Kaihara unveiled a new trick creation that pushes the limits of women’s vertical skating: A perfectly landed switch front foot impossible tailgrab, riding opposite-footed and spinning the board around her leading foot, for second place.
Kaihara now owns six X Games medals (two silver, four bronze).
Also dropping into the session with a couple of tech moves up her sleeve, new Monster Energy team rider Mizuho Hasegawa had a chance to make history: The Japanese phenom already made history the previous night as the first rider to earn six X Games medals within one calendar year. Now she could also push closer to setting the record as the female athlete with the most Summer X Games medals, currently at twelve medals.
Rising to the occasion, Hasegawa punched her ticket to the podium by landing an alley-oop body varial 540 for the bronze medal.
Hasegawa now owns 12 X Games medals (three gold, eight silver, one bronze) and is tied with skateboarder Leticia Bufoni for most women’s Summer X Games medals. Hasegawa also continues to lead individual XGL athlete rankings at 600 points.
Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street: Toa Sasaki Clinches Silver in Heavy Final
The team’s medal run continued in the Monster Energy Men’s Skateboard Street event. In a heavy field of multiple X Games gold medalists, Toa Sasaki wanted to fulfill a dream: Although Sasaki had already won two WST Street World Championships, he was still looking for his first X Games medal. Until today!
After coming close to landing a perfect run on his second attempt, Sasaki saved the best for last: On Run 3, Sasaki found the perfect line featuring 360 kickflip the bump to bump, frontside 180 switch feeble 180 out the bump to rail, backside noseblunt slide the rail, nollie kickflip the pyramid, transfer frontside noseblunt on top the bank, huge backside 360 ollie the pyramid to flat, alley-oop frontside ollie into bank, impossible the Euro Gap, and Caballerial backside noseblunt slide fakie the rail for 90.00 points and the silver medal.
Mission accomplished: Today’s silver marks Sasaki’s first X Games medal.
Also throwing down heavy tricks in the intense final, 17-year-old Julian Agliardi from Long Beach, California, finished closely off the podium after putting down a perfect final run. Stringing together tricks including gap to frontside noseblunt slide the rail, frontside heelflip the bump, and backside sugarcane grind the rail earned Agliardi 83.20 points and fourth place in one of the most dramatic street finals X Games has ever seen.
That’s it for day two in the Big Easy! Stay tuned for more X Games New Orleans 2026 on Sunday when the first-ever XGL Champions will be crowned!
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Visit www.monsterenergy.com for exclusive updates from X Games New Orleans 2026, including photos, videos, and contest results as they happen. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok.
For interview or photo requests, contact Kim Dresser.
About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock-and-roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, bands, believers, and fans. See more about Monster Energy, including all of its drinks, at www.monsterenergy.com.
CONTACT: Kim Dresser C: (949) 300-5546 E: [email protected]
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