RIP Jeremy Lusk: X-Games Gold Medalist

[kttate75]

http://espn.go.com/action/fmx/blog

Bullet The Blue Sky

Jeremy Lusk R.I.P.

February 10, 2009, 5:20 PM

By: Eric Johnson

Last night in a hospital bed in Costa Rica, surrounded by his mother, father, wife and number of his closest friends, freestyle motocross star Jeremy Lusk passed away from injuries he suffered while competing in the X-Knights contest. Jeremy was a tough kid: Tough in demeanor, tough in character, tough as a competitor. He could be intimidating both on and off the ramps, but behind it all, he was a genuine, sincere, and kindhearted kid from San Diego, California. Now he's gone.

When tragic things happen such as this, the first thing we innately do as human beings is search for the memories and times of when the person was, at least in our eyes, at his happiest. The happiest I ever saw Jeremy Lusk was last summer mere minutes after the Summer X Games Moto X Freestyle finals had been completed at the Home Depot Center stadium below Los Angeles. As one of the five judges up in a booth overlooking the contest, we all scrambled to add up the scores on the paper we had scribbled upon. Sixty seconds later, the scores were tabulated, and Lusk was going to win the gold medal. Moments later, the result was radioed down to the floor and huge smiles appeared on the faces of both Jeremy Lusk and his wife, Lauren. Jeremy had won the Big One.

Whether it is going 200 miles per hour on a MotoGP bike, racing into the fist turn with 39 other motocross racers or doing a double grab backflip, being a motorcycle competitor of any sort requires an almost otherworldly combination of skill and courage. And more than anything, it requires total commitment. For reasons such as these we admire and are even awestruck with the athletes that perform such tremendous feats — especially when the stakes are so very high. Jeremy Lusk was one of the most committed motorcycle competitors in the world. That commitment may have driven him to his fate in a sport where everyone is so close to the edge that they hardly know where it lies. And for that, Jeremy Lusk wouldn't have had it any other way. —Eric Johnson

[advres]

yeah, super bummer. My brother e-mailed me a link to a story this afternoon.

[Art Shirk]

The vid is gnarly. RIP.

[hev]

Damn. That's tragic. RIP.

[Making a Pizza]

Wow, such a bummer =(

[kttate75]

The vid is gnarly. RIP.

I watched it once, don't want to see it again.

[cinnepa]

was impressed how fast the EMT's were there after the crash but i was surprised how they carried him out of there. seemed like running across the arena with him could have done more damage....the ambulance couldn't drive out there to him? just comparing it to the NFL for head/spinal injuries - seems like they go out of their way to not move the person anymore than they have to.
really sucks.....prayers to the family.

[powbmps]

I saw another angle on the news this morning. Looks like they rolled him over without much regard for neck support. Not saying that affected the outcome in any way.

[hop]

Holy sadness. RIP.

[Lawless]

That dude died living.

[fallguy]

RIP
++++VIBES+++++ to his wife and family.

[emtnate]

was impressed how fast the EMT's were there after the crash but i was surprised how they carried him out of there. seemed like running across the arena with him could have done more damage....the ambulance couldn't drive out there to him? just comparing it to the NFL for head/spinal injuries - seems like they go out of their way to not move the person anymore than they have to.
really sucks.....prayers to the family.

The tracks I work at, we leave the ambulance in the pits. It would get stuck in the dirt and ruts, and probably have more bumps than carrying someone on a backboard. We sit track side with a gator that has a backboard and jump kit on board. We're also given pit bikes to get around the property quickly.

There's another threat about this over in sprocket rockets.