After teasing the crowd at Thursday's preliminary round with a single backflip, Mike "Godfather" Metzger landed Moto X's first Back-to-Back Backflips, en route to winning his first X Games Gold Medal with 98.00 in the Freestyle event this afternoon at the First Union Complex. "Cowboy" Kenny Bartram, from Stillwater, Okla., finished second with a 91.67 and upstart Drake McElroy surprised, finishing third with a 91.33.

Calling his new trick the "Double Fritz," Metzger said, "I feel awesome about it. I've been thinking about it since yesterday's practice and I wanted to pull (the Double Fritz) for the crowd at practice, but I saved it for the competition; saved the best for last. "It's a little scary landing those backflips," said Metzger, a Menifee, Calif., native. "But once you land one, you don't have any fears. You just know you can nail it. Next, we might be competing for world records in backflips."

Bartram, who held the International Freestyle Motocross Association's top ranking as of August 1, fell at the end of his run while attempting to land a jump. He twisted his ankle, but was well enough to participate in the medal ceremony. "I'm feeling awesome, glad to get the silver," he said.

"I'm feeling great after my run." Said first-time participant McElroy, "I'm totally stoked about being here at X Games, especially since I medalled in my first time here."

The X Games showcases 300 of the world's best action sports athletes competing in a variety of sports events for medals and more than $1 million in total prize money. In its first year as X Games host, Philadelphia drew 235,000 spectators during X Games VII, August 17-22, 2001.