Sending backflip tailwhips high above the crowd at Rice Eccles stadium. Photo: Matthew Windsor

Nitro World Games 2016

Action Sports


A spinoff of the ever-popular Nitro Circus, the Nitro World Games falls somewhere between the X Games and a monster truck rally in terms of pure entertainment via action sports. Rice Eccles Stadium was temporarily taken over on Saturday, July 16, by Travis Pastrana and his team, covering the football field with almost comically massive launch and landing ramps. This was the very first Nitro World Games event, drawing nearly 25,000 people to come out for the show. The SLC area was represented via BMX riders Kurtis Downs, Gavin Godfrey and Colton Satterfield, with other competitors from each discipline coming in from all over the world, including Japan, Australia and the Czech Republic. Athletes from BMX, skateboarding and freestyle motocross showed just what exactly is possible if you’re given enough air time and aren’t afraid to push some boundaries.