X Games Minneapolis 2017 Reveals First Wave of Invited Athletes

X Games Minneapolis revealed today the first wave of invited athletes for its 2017 event on XGames.com. The world’s premier action sports competition debuts in the Twin Cities July 13-16 at the new U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis and at Mall of America with Harley-Davidson Flat Track Racing.

In addition to sports and an interactive youth culture festival, X Fest, world-class musical performances from A Day To Remember, Flume and Minneapolis’ own Atmosphere will also be part of the event. All three musical performances will take place at the Commons stage, located outside U.S. Bank Stadium.

Tickets are available now starting at $20 for general admission at www.xgames.com/tickets. Multi-day admission and several levels of hospitality and suites are also available for purchase. For the first time in the X Games event history, limited floor access seating will be made available, offering guests an opportunity to get as close to the action as the athletes without actually competing.

Alec Majerus competing in Monster Energy Skateboard Street at X Games Austin 2016
(Photo: Chris Tedesco / ESPN Images)

The first wave of X Games Minneapolis 2017 invited athletes includes:

• Kyle Baldock (Gold Coast, Australia) – The first BMX rider to win two gold in the same X Games event since 2006, Baldock has taken five total X Games gold medals, with one at X Games Austin 2016 in Dave Mirra’s BMX Park Best Trick. He added a bronze last year as well in BMX Park.
• Pamela Rosa (Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil) – Rosa has taken X Games gold at the past two Skateboard Street competitions in Austin and Oslo. The youngest champion in the discipline, she also won back-to-back X Games Austin silver medals prior to winning gold in Oslo.
• Jackson Strong (Lockhart, New South Wales, Australia) – A freestyle motocross innovator, "Jacko" is a crowd favorite for his fearless go-for-it style. The Australian took home Moto X Best Trick Gold at X Games Austin, adding a third gold medal to his collection.
• Jared Mees (Clio, Michigan) – Mees is one of the stars of dirt track, a four time AMA Pro Flat Track champion and also took gold at X Games Austin 2016 in Flat Track racing. Husband of recently retired racer Nichole Mees, the pair became the first married couple to compete against each other at an X Games event.
• Elliot Sloan (New York City, New York) – Despite the pain of two compressed discs in his neck, Sloan grabbed three medals at X Games Austin 2015, including gold in Vert Best Trick. Sloan is also musically talented; he plays guitar and bass in his own recording studio and even consulted with Darnell Williams to compose the theme song for X Games Austin 2016.
• Pedro Barros (Florianopolis, Brazil) – Barros dominates park competitions, especially at X Games where he has never finished below silver in nine total Skateboard Park appearances. The Brazilian took home his sixth gold medal in Austin last year and owns three additional silver medals.
• Alec Majerus (Rochester, Minnesota) – From just outside of the Twin Cities, Majerus grew up skating in basements, garages and the cold streets of Minneapolis. Known as technical skater favoring rails and big drops, Majerus owns a bronze medal in Skateboard Street and also participated in the World of X Games Real Street 2016 competition.
• Lizzie Armanto (Santa Monica, California) – 23-year-old Armanto entered the first X Games Women’s Skateboard Park event the past three years as a near-lock for a podium spot and did not disappoint, taking home silver in Austin. She won gold previously at X Games Barcelona in 2013, has a character in Tony Hawk’s latest Pro Skater video game and holds the distinction as the first female skateboarder sponsored by Monster Energy.

*PLEASE NOTE: The invited athlete list is constantly being updated and is subject to change.

The full list of first wave athletes invited to compete at X Games Minneapolis 2017 is available at XGames.com.

As part of the Road to X Games content series, X Games will also host top athletes in a Boise Park Qualifier event on Saturday, June 10, as they compete to secure their invitation to X Games Minneapolis. Streamed live from Rhodes Skatepark in Boise, Idaho, the Boise Park Qualifier will feature three disciplines – Men’s Skateboard Park, Women’s Skateboard Park and BMX Park. The top six athletes in each discipline will also receive invites to Minneapolis.

ESPN and ABC will televise a combined 18.5 hours of live X Games Minneapolis 2017 coverage, which will also be accessible via WatchESPN and WatchABC to viewers who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. Additional coverage of sports and music will be carried on ESPN3 as well as the latest coverage across ESPN digital platforms, including XGames.com, the X Games app, and X Games pages across YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and more. Following X Games Minneapolis 2017, ABC will deliver four hours of anthology programming on Saturday, July 22, as part of the World of X Games series

Additional information on all X Games Minneapolis 2017 events will be forthcoming on www.xgames.com for fans.