After the accidental death of competitor Caleb Moore at the Winter X Games in Aspen last month, ESPN has decided to cancel the snowmobile freestyle exhibition that was set to go on at the event.
According to ESPN.com, the network is citing a review as the reason for the cancelation and made the announcement on Tuesday, two weeks after the death of Moore. The athlete died on Jan. 31st in Colorado, a week after suffering serious head and heart injuries after crashing during the freestyle event.
Moore was riding over a jump and the bottom of his 450-pund vehicle flipped over and threw him over the handlebars before landing on him. He was bleeding and suffered a concussion as well. Video showed Moore on the snow for a few minutes on the ground before he was able to get up and off the track. He was rushed to Aspen Valley Hospital with a concussion, according to an X Games Medical report. While there, doctors discovered bleeding around Moore's heart and he was flown to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo.
"Our review of snowmobile freestyle continues. In the meantime, we have decided to forego the planned demonstration freestyle event at X Games Tignes," ESPN said in its statement. X Games Tignes in France is the second of six global X Games events and will feature snowboarding and skiing competition March 20-22.
The announcement is similar to one made last week after the International Series of Champions canceled freestyle events that had been planned in conjunction with AMSOIL Championship Snocross races. Moore was buried and put in the ground by his family on Thursday in Texas, where he was surrounding by friends and family.
"He was always down to help out other people," said Moore's younger brother, Colten, according to the Amarillo Globe-News. "Without Caleb, I don't know what I would have done growing up because he was always there for me ... I can pretty much say he taught me everything I know. When we raced together, he pushed me to go faster and made me jump jumps that I wouldn't have done. Even if I couldn't do it, he would push me until I could."
Moore had won a number of X Games medals and he competed with his brother in Snowmobile Freestyle every year since 2010. The death of Moore has made many in the media question some of the competitions and the dangers of winter sports.
Said Daniel Bodin, a fellow competitor and Moore's close friend, "Ten years ago we didn't have foam pits, and it was just a couple of guys who had the foam pits. So everything is much safer now days. But still we keep pushing harder and harder, and everyone wants that gold medal. Everyone wants to be the best in the world. We're trying as much as we can ... It's tough out there. We're just pushing so much."
Moore suffered brain and head injuries and was the first X Games competitor to die in a competition.