ESPN X Games 13 Invited Athletes
Supercross Sensation James “Bubba” Stewart Among Those Invited to Compete in the World’s Premier Action Sports Event along with Travis Pastrana, Kevin Robinson, Danny Way, Elissa Steamer, Sandro Dias and Jeff Ward
LOS ANGELES – ESPN’s X Games, the world’s premier action sport event, announces the first wave of athletes who have been invited to compete at X Games 13, to be held in Los Angeles Aug. 2-5, 2007. The 13th annual action sports competition will feature more than 150 of the world’s best athletes competing in: BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Rally Car Racing.
For the complete, updated list of X Games 13 athletes, log on to www.expn.com The second wave of invitations is scheduled to be announced in mid June. *PLEASE NOTE: The invited athlete list is constantly being updated and is subject to change.
Among the first wave of invited athletes include:
• James “Bubba” Stewart: The 2007 AMA and FIM WSXGP Supercross Champion has been invited to this year’s inaugural Moto X Racing competition to compete against the world’s best, including racing legend Ricky Carmichael
• Eric Koston: Five-time X Games medalist and 2007 Tampa Pro street skate winner
• Kevin Robinson: X Games 12 BMX Freestyle double gold medalist
• Travis Pastrana: Defending Rally Car Racing champ and eight-time X Games gold medalist
• Elissa Steamer: Consecutive three-time X Games Skateboard Street Women’s defending gold medalist
• Sandro Dias: Six-time X Games medalist and defending Skateboard Vert gold medalist
• Jeff Ward: Defending Moto X SuperMoto gold medalist
• Danny Way: Consecutive three-time X Games Skateboard Big Air defending gold medalist
• Layne Beachley: Seven-time ASP Women’s World Champion and Surfing Hall of Famer has been invited to coach The World team in the inaugural women’s surfing competition
*Please Note: Invited surfing athletes will be forthcoming
All athletes receiving invitations to compete at X Games 13 are chosen by a sport-specific selection committee. Criteria and timing of invitations varies by sport and discipline, as it is based on the state and event schedules of that particular sport. The only exception is each gold medalist from X Games 12 (2006) receives an automatic invitation to compete.
The X Games Los Angeles-based venues will include STAPLES Center and The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. All competitions at STAPLES Center and The Home Depot Center are ticketed events, which can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com beginning Thursday, June 14. The surfing competition in Puerto Escondido, Mexico will be held July 3-6 and is free to the public.
ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will provide 14 hours of live programming August 2-5 as well as X Games 13 coverage on ESPN International, EXPN.com, ESPN Classic, ESPN360.com, SportsCenter and ESPN2’s X Center.
ABOUT ESPN’s X GAMES FRANCHISE
ESPN, The Worldwide Leader in Action Sports, first developed its X Games franchise in 1995. Part of ESPN Original Entertainment, X Games, Winter X Games and All Access are just some of the original action sports programming currently shown on ESPN and ESPN2. In addition to the two U.S.-based events, ESPN has held X Games competitions and demonstration events around the world including Dubai, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, Malaysia, China and Spain. The global franchise has also expanded its reach to EXPN.com, the definitive site for action sports fans, and to consumer products such as X Games bikes, protective gear, skateboards and DVDs.
X Games will remain in Los Angeles through 2009.