Aussie dirt bike stunt rider Josh Sheehan just flipped his way into the sports record books. Yesterday morning, Nitro Circus rider Josh Sheehan just landed the first ever ‘triple backflip’ on a dirt bike and it’s already being heralded as the ‘Biggest Trick in Action Sports History’. Much like when Tony Hawk landed the first ever 900 on a skateboard vert pipe in the X Games, Josh Sheehan is already sending shockwaves through the extreme sports world.
This video’s already blown through a million views, and it’s only been about 10 hours since the video first went live. Considered by some to be the best FMX rider in the world, Josh Sheehan rides for Nitro Circus, the team founded by legendary FMX rider Travis Pastrana. Travis had this to say about Josh in anticipation of his record setting attempt:
At Nitro Circus, we are all about progression, raising the bar and claiming ‘World Firsts,’” commented Pastrana. “For anyone that’s ever done something that no one else on the planet has done, it really is a pretty special moment. I’m excited for Josh. The triple is definitely one hell of a scary trick to pull off!”
Josh Sheehan was only able to pull the record breaking triple backflip off due to some incredible ramp engineering, and thousands upon thousands of hours of practice. This trick in particular requires a speed of 55 mph (FMX bike weighing 200-pounds) as he shoots up the 37-foot tall takeoff ramp positioned at an 81-degree angle. In order to pull off the triple backflip it was expected that Josh would need to reach a height of 80-feet in the air before landing on the 60-foot long landing ramp. Presumably he hit that 80-foot apex as it’s obvious he pulled the jump off.
Just an incredible feat. I’m not sure the FMX world ever thought they’d see a triple backflip, but Josh Sheehan just raised the bar forever:
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