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Professional surfer Kalani David died Saturday after suffering a seizure while practicing.
"He was surfing when he apparently suffered some kind of epileptic seizure and drowned," Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency said to the Associated Press (via NBC News). "The death is still under investigation."
According to the AP, the 24-year-old suffered from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a congenital heart condition that can cause seizures, paralysis and cardiac arrest.
Per Alexander Haro of The Inertia, David previously had a seizure while he was skateboarding in August 2016. He was placed into a medically induced coma for two days following another seizure at home in Hawai'i that December.
David quickly built a reputation for himself as both a surfer and a skateboarder. He won a gold medal in the under-16 group at the ISA World Junior Championships. He also competed in the 2012 Summer X Games in Los Angeles, placing 18th in skateboard park.
Legendary surfer Kelly Slater called David "one of the most talented surfers/skaters in the world" on social media.
"He was constantly pushing his limits," Slater said. "My condolences to the great family and friends that Kalani had on every beach around the world."
Former United States Ski and Snowboard head coach Peter Foley has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by three former athletes and a former employee.
Per ESPN's Alyssa Roenigk and Tisha Thompson, the four women lodged complaints against Foley with the U.S. Center for SafeSport last week.
In interviews with Roegnigk and Thompson, the women alleged they "had to tolerate sexual misconduct because Foley controlled which athletes were selected to go to the Olympics and they feared he would retaliate by withholding Olympic opportunities or ending their employment."
One Olympic gold medalist told Roegnigk and Thompson that her complained filed with SafeSport "includes an allegation that Foley sexually assaulted her while she participated in a U.S. training camp he ran when she was 19."
At the end of training camp, she said Foley told the athletes they would be sleeping in the same room together before taking a flight the next day.
The athlete said at one point when she was asleep she felt Foley "sneak in behind me in the bed" and he "reached his left arm over my body and put his fingers inside me."
She went on to say she just laid "there in shock" and he eventually "just stopped and he got up and left."
Lindsey Sine Nikola, a U.S. Ski and Snowboard employee from 2006-10, said she filed a report with SafeSport last week alleging that Foley "coerced her into taking nude photos and later sexually assaulted her at a World Cup ski race in December 2008."
Nikola also alleged Foley said he "wants to do something physical with me" after he crawled into her bed and asked to rub her back, which she initially consented to after initially feeling uncomfortable.
"I am stunned because my gut was trying to tell me all along that I should remove myself from the situation and I was telling myself I was overreacting," Nikola explained. "But I wasn't. I said 'no.' I said, 'Listen. No. You're married. There's a million reasons why this isn't going to happen, but no.'"
She said Foley eventually touched her breasts and genitals without her consent.
Allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior by Foley became public last month when Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, a member of the 2010 U.S. Olympic snowboard team, wrote a series of posts on Instagram accusing him of taking naked pictures of athletes for more than a decade and making inappropriate and racist comments to athletes.
Erin O'Malley, former U.S. snowboarder, alleged Foley pinned her against a wall and tried to kiss her after a postrace event.
"What I can see in my mind is Peter's body pressed against me and my back against the wall of the elevator," O'Malley said. "From there I remember thinking 'Oh s---, Peter is following us to our room.'"
U.S. Ski and Snowboard announced Sunday that Foley was no longer employed by the organization. Rob Fagen has taken over as interim head coach.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport announced a temporary suspension for Foley on March 18 pending a formal investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct.
Foley spent 27 years as head coach of the United States snowboard team since its inception in 1994.
Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawks is already making progress after breaking his leg just over a week ago.
On Thursday, the 53-year-old Hawk tweeted video of himself walking without crutches and announced that his goal is to be back skating by May:
Hawk previously announced on March 8 that he suffered a broken femur, although he gave a positive outlook at the time:
Per TMZ Sports, the injury was career-threatening, but Hawk expressed his belief that he would be able skate again, saying:
"I've said many times that I won't stop skating until I am physically unable. A broken leg— with plenty of hardware—will probably be the biggest test of that creed. I'll be back ... maybe not at full capacity, but I resigned to that notion years ago as I approached 'mid-life.'"
Hawk is widely considered the greatest skater of all time, and he is undoubtedly the most popular and well-known skateboarder in the history of the sport.
While Hawk has largely been retired from competitive skateboarding since 2003, the former X Games star and innovator of the "900" trick still competes on occasion.
Hawk is perhaps best known for his beloved video game series Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, which debuted in 1999 and remains a hot seller, as the game was remastered for current consoles in 2020.
Hawk will turn 54 on May 12, and based on the comments he made Thursday, he has an eye toward getting back on a board by then, which would be just two months after breaking his leg.
Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk revealed on Instagram that he suffered a broken femur.
"Yesterday sucked," the 53-year-old Hawk wrote in part on IG.
"I broke my elbow 20 years ago and managed to make a full comeback; this recovery for a broken femur will be much harder because of its severity (and my age). But I’m up for the challenge."
Per TMZ Sports, Hawk suffered the broken femur while skating, but it's unclear exactly what led to the injury. Video showed Hawk on the road to recovery walking down a hospital hallway on crutches.
He ended his IG post as follows:
A broken leg—with plenty of hardware—will probably be the biggest test of that creed. I’ll be back... maybe not at full capacity but I resigned to that notion years ago as I approached “mid-life.” Thanks to my unyieldingly supportive, tolerant family—and all of you—for the love and support through the years; I wouldn’t be here without you. See you on the other side.
Hawk is one of the most decorated skateboarders in the sport's history and undoubtedly its most popular and iconic one. He won 10 Summer X Games gold medals during his decorated career and notably became the first-ever person to complete a documented 900:
Hawk is also the namesake for the popular video game series, which began in 1999 with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.
He is also the founder of The Skatepark Project.
Kelly Slater isn't slowing down as he approaches age 50.
The surfing legend. who hits that milestone Friday, took home the Billabong Pro Pipeline event over the weekend, becoming the oldest winner of the event's history. Slater has won surfing's most prestigious event a record eight times, with the first coming all the way back in 1992.
No other person has won the Billabong Pro Pipeline more than four times.
Seth Moniz, a rising 24-year-old who wasn't even born the first time Slater won this event, finished in second.
Now that he's proved he can beat the best of the next generation, Slater says he'll consider retirement from full-time surfing. He said he spoke to Tom Brady, who announced his retirement from football last week, in the aftermath of the 44-year-old quarterback's decision to walk away.
“It would be interesting if that happened in the same week,“ Slater said, per Pat Graham and Eddie Pells of the Associated Press. “We’ll see how that goes. I’m contemplating whether I stop now or really go full bore this whole year, which would be, in my eyes, really for the fans and saying goodbye to everybody after all the years of support they’ve given me.”
The 2022 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, brought a return of fans and plenty of memorable tricks and performances.
Here is a look at the full results of competitions that started Friday and ran through Sunday's Men's Ski SuperPipe.
The results are courtesy of the X Games' official website.
Friday, Jan. 21
Women's Snowboard Slopestyle
1. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott
2. Jamie Anderson
3. Laurie Blouin
Women's Ski Big Air
1. Tess Ledeux, 94.00
2. Megan Oldham, 89.00
3. Olivia Asselin, 72.00
Snowboard Knuckle Huck
1. Marcus Kleveland
2. Fridtjof Sæther Tischendorf
3. Dusty Henricksen
Women's Ski SuperPipe
1. Kelly Sildaru
2. Brita Sigourney
3. Hanna Faulhaber
Men's Snowboard SuperPipe
1. Scotty James
2. Ayumu Hirano
3. Kaishu Hirano
Saturday, Jan. 22
Women's Ski Slopestyle
1. Tess Ledeux
2. Mathilde Gremaud
3. Megan Oldham
Men's Snowboard Slopestyle
1. Mark McMorris
2. Marcus Kleveland
3. Sven Thorgren
Women's Snowboard Big Air
1. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, 85.00
2. Jamie Anderson, 82.00
3. Miyabi Onitsuka, 78.00
Women's Snowboard SuperPipe
1. Sena Tomita
2. Queralt Castellet
3. Haruna Matsumoto
Men's Ski Big Air
1. Alex Hall, 94.00
2. Mac Forehand, 92.00
3. Teal Harle, 91.00
Men's Snowboard Big Air
1. Marcus Kleveland, 82.00
2. Max Parrot, 81.00
3. Rene Rinnekangas, 80.00
Sunday, Jan. 23
Men's Ski Slopestyle
1. Andri Ragettli
2. Max Moffatt
3. Alex Hall
Ski Knuckle Huck
1. Quinn Wolferman
2. Jake Mageau
3. Alex Hall
Men's Ski SuperPipe
1. Nico Porteous
2. Aaron Blunck
3. David Wise
It didn't take long for the drama to start at Buttermilk Mountain.
The Men's Snowboard SuperPipe is always one of the headline events, and Scotty James went head-to-head with Ayumu Hirano. While Hirano narrowly earned the gold over James the last time he competed in the X Games in 2018, it was James' time to shine on his way to a fourth X Games gold medal.
Elsewhere, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott was brilliant on her way to gold in the Women's Snowboard Slopestyle. ESPN's Grace Coryell suggested she unleashed "arguably the best Women's Snowboard Slopestyle run in contest history—Cab 270 on the down bar, a switch boardslide pretzel out, frontside bluntslide 450 out, switch backside 900 Indy, frontside double cork 1080 melon and backside double cork 1080 Weddle grab."
She wasn't the only one who dazzled, as Tess Ledeux became the first woman to land a double cork 1620 in competition as the Women's Ski Big Air winner, and Kelly Sildaru captured gold in the Women's Ski SuperPipe to win her 10th X Games medal and break a tie with Shaun White and Nyjah Huston for the most as a teenager.
That was just the beginning thanks to more record showings during Saturday's competition.
Coryell broke down the history that happened during the X Games' second day:
Sunday was a big day for men's skiing, and Switzerland's Andri Ragettli held off challenges from Canada's Max Moffatt and the United States' Alex Hall.
Hall also took bronze in the Men's Ski Knuckle Huck behind Quinn Wolferman and Jake Mageau before the grand finale of the Men's Ski SuperPipe. Nico Porteous closed the festivities with a brilliant showing in that final event.
It fittingly came down to the final run, but the defending champion was able to outlast Aaron Blunck for the second straight year in dramatic fashion.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White headlined the men's field at the first of three 2021-22 FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cups at Copper Mountain in Frisco, Colorado, on Saturday.
The event kicked off the season's U.S. Grand Prix tour and was also second of four U.S. Olympic selection events for snowboard halfpipe leading up to February's Olympics in Beijing.
While the participants took part in three runs, only their best run counted.
White started the day in impressive fashion, scoring a 75.50 on his first run after throwing down two switch-frontside double cork 1080s into a frontside 540, a double McTwist 1260 before finishing with an alley-oop backside rodeo.
He finished the first run ranked third behind Japanese competitors Ruka Hirano (89.25) and Raibu Katayama (81.25).
However, the 35-year-old struggled in his second run, scoring a 64.25 after performing two frontside 1080s, a pair of frontside 540s and a double McTwist 1260.
Big performers in the second run included Americans Taylor Gold (87.00) and Chase Josey (85.25) and Japan's Yuto Totsuka (87.75), who bounced back from a rough first run in which he recorded a 14.25.
White had an even worse performance on his third and final run of the afternoon, scoring a 5.00 after performing a double cork 1080 but failing to stick the landing. He finished the afternoon ranked eighth, while Hirano, Switzerland's Jan Scherrer and Totsuka finished on the podium.
Before Saturday's event, White last competed in March, placing fourth at the U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen. That event ended his three-year hiatus following his victory at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
Let's not sugarcoat it: This is a strange one.
Liquid Death Mountain Water, partnering with Tony Hawk, created a limited run of 100 skateboards that will be decorated with paint infused with the skateboarding legend's blood.
Yes, you read that correctly:
For fans who want the product, well, no dice. The bloody boards have already sold out on Liquid Death's website. They retailed for $500.
So just to reiterate, skateboards with a small amount of Hawk's blood infused into the paint design were being sold for $500, and 100 people were like, yup, shut up and take my money. You can't make this stuff up.
Professional skateboarder Terry Kennedy has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly beating a man to death in Illinois.
The DuPage County State Attorney's Office told TMZ the charges were filed Monday after a man Kennedy allegedly assaulted died over the weekend. Kennedy was previously arrested on several charges related to the alleged assault of Josiah Kassahun at an Illinois motel on July 27.
Court records say Kennedy is said to have punched Kassahun in the head before kicking him in the torso when he was on the ground. The medical examiner said Kassahun died of blunt-force trauma to his head.
Kennedy was initially charged with aggravated battery in a public place. He was also facing charges of criminal trespass, theft of a woman's debit card, jacket and SUV and obstructing a police officer.
In addition to those charges, Kennedy is accused of violating his bail bond for allegedly kicking in the door of his ex-girlfriend's apartment. Police also added a count of threatening a public official after Kennedy allegedly threatened to kill officers.
Kennedy is best known for making several appearances on MTV shows such as Viva La Bam and is the co-founder of the Fly Society clothing line.
