X Games safety in spotlight after snowmobiler Caleb Moore's death

Friends mourn 25-year-old star athlete and 'fierce competitor', whose accidental death is first in daring contest's 18-year history
Tom McCarthy in New York From: http://www.guardian.co.uk

Emergency personnel tend to Moore after he crashed during the snowmobile freestyle event last week. Photograph: Christian Murdock/AP

Caleb Moore was a top athlete in one of the most daring competitions ever devised for television: freestyle snowmobiling. But his death on Thursday from injuries sustained in last week's Winter X Games threw his sport – and the attending spectacle – into a harsh new light.

The 25-year-old died in a Colorado hospital from medical complications affecting his brain, a family spokesperson said.

"He will be truly missed and never forgotten," the family said in a statement. "The family wishes to express their deep gratitude for all the prayers and support they have received from all the fans, friends and family around the world that Caleb has inspired."

Moore crashed a minute into a routine in which he treated his 450-pound snowmobile like a broomstick, spinning around it in midair as he flew from ramp from ramp. He had been attempting a backflip with his machine, a trick he had performed many times. The X Games, which are produced by ESPN, are built on such excitement – and risk.

Moore's death was directly preceded by warnings that X Games athletes were taking life-threatening risks in the pursuit of victory – and the fame and potentially lucrative sponsorship deals that could follow.

Under the headline "It's only a matter of time before someone dies at the X-Games", Brent Rose, a writer for the sports site Deadspin, described his dismay at the multiple accidents – including Moore's – he witnessed at this year's games, held in Aspen. Rose's report was published Thursday morning, before news spread of Moore's death.

"As I watched these athletes fly over my head, it really hit home just how miraculous the zero-casualty rate was," Rose wrote. "'Maybe it's safer than it looks,' I thought for a brief moment. And then they started dropping like planes over Midway."

Caleb Moore

The X Games have been a huge success for sponsors and broadcasters – and a huge treat for fans – since their inception 18 years ago. With a focus on sports such as skateboarding and BMX that once lived on the commercial margins, the games gave athletes new professional avenues and fans new access to the excitement. The advent of the Winter X Games in 1997 shed a lucrative spotlight on snowboarding and snowmobiling.

For ESPN, the games have been a big success. This year's winter competition broke all records for viewership, drawing 35.4 million US viewers, including all live and repeat telecasts, according to official figures. Viewership among the key demographic, men aged 18-34, was up 16%.

With the global television audience for the games growing, ESPN plansto produce competitions at sites outside the United States for the first time next year. As with the Olympics, potential host cities will participate in a formal bidding process to host the games. Unlike the Olympics, the process will be arbitrated not by an international committee but by the games' for-profit broadcaster: ESPN.

In a statement Thursday, X Games officials expressed condolences and said Moore would be remembered "for his natural passion for life and his deep love for his family and friends".

Moore's agent, BC Vaught, told the Associated Press that Moore didn't believe his sport was too extreme, but rather "it was a lifestyle". He was good at it – along with ATV racing – and had accumulated a garage full of trophies.

Fellow snowmobile rider Levi LaVallee recently described Moore as a "fierce competitor".

"A very creative mind," LaVallee said. "I've watched him try some crazy, crazy tricks, and some of them were successful, some of them not so much. But he was first guy to get back on a sled and go try it again. It shows a lot of heart."