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- X Games Salt Lake City will feature top action sports athletes in June.
- Invitees include Nyjah Huston, Yuto Horigome and Ryan Sheckler.
- Ticket details are expected to be released in March.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's first X Games event is set to pull in some of the biggest stars in action sports.
X Games Salt Lake City is an "invite-only" event, attracting the biggest names in skateboard, BMX and Moto X, Jeremy Bloom, the organization's CEO, said in an announcement on Feb. 13. "We're going to bring back a lot of the legends, people who helped shape this iconic brand."
That certainly seems to be the case as the action sports giant on Wednesday revealed nearly 100 athletes invited to participate at X Games Salt Lake City, at the Utah State Fairpark June 27-29.
Skateboard
Fifteen-time X Games gold medalist skateboarder Nyjah Huston highlights the list. The Californian also walked away with a bronze medal in the men's street skateboarding event at the Paris Olympics last year. It was the second time the event took place in the Olympics.
Speaking of that event, Yuto Horigome and Jagger Eaton, who won gold and silver for Japan and the U.S., respectively, have also been invited to compete in Salt Lake City. The same goes for Keegan Palmer (Australia) and Tom Schaar (U.S.), who won gold and silver in men's park.
Five of the six medalists in women's street and park, including gold medalists Coco Yoshizawa (Japan) and Arisa Trew (Australia), received invites, as well. The future of the sport could also be on display, as Mia Kretzer, who won an X Games gold medal at age 9 last year, got asked to compete, too.
Meanwhile, three-time gold medalist Ryan Sheckler, who said he would end a multiyear hiatus to compete in Utah when the event was announced, is also on the list. X Games broadcaster Brandon Graham joked his return decision was "just like Michael Jordan announcing he's back."
"I'm finally at a point where I'm excited to compete and I want to compete — and it's just such a blessing that X Games came back around," Sheckler said at the time.
BMX
Seven-time X Games gold medalist Kevin Peraza is the lone rider invited to compete in both men's BMX park and street, where he could go up against 16-time gold medalist Garrett Reynolds and eight-time gold medalist Ryan Williams.
Argentina's Jose Torres Gil, who won gold in men's BMX park at the Paris Olympics, could compete as well, along with the two others who joined him atop the event's podium last year: Kieran Reilly (United Kingdom) and Anthony Jeanjean (France).
All three medalists from the women's BMX park in Paris — Deng Yawen (China), Perris Benegas (U.S.) and Natalya Diehm (Australia) — also got invited to Utah. They'll be joined by the likes of competitors like Tokyo Games silver medalist Hannah Roberts, who said on Feb. 13 that she was in the process of moving to the Salt Lake area.
"People love this place," she said.
Moto X
Australia's Jackson Strong is the most decorated Moto X competitor to be invited to compete in late June. The eight-time gold medalist could compete against riders like Colby Raha (U.S.), Tyler Bereman (U.S.) and Corey Creed (Australia), who have, combined, won 11 gold medals themselves.
In all, 16 Moto X competitors were invited, marking the smallest pool of athletes among the three sports.
Ticket details have yet to be released, but Bloom said those would likely be announced in March. The event is also slated to be broadcast nationally on ABC and ESPN.
