In the extreme sports world, backflips get certifiably more awesome when doubled. Swedish freestyle snowmobile rider Daniel Bodin successfully completed the first double backflip on the vehicle in history—and just in the nick of time it seems. That’s because American freestylers Colten Moore and Heath Frisby were expected to attempt the same stunt a few days later at the Winter X-Games in Aspen, Colorado.
After several test runs, the 31-year-old Bodin completed the double backflip, sending the 450-pound snowmobile 45 feet in the air. Other previous attempts at the feat include Levi LaValle’s in 2009 and Justin Hoyer’s in 2001 (both at the Winter X-Games).
The double backflip record wasn’t altogether new territory for Bodin; he landed the world’s longest backflip on a snowmobile (147 feet) back in 2008. “I have always felt that this trick was mine and I simply couldn’t let anybody else beat me to it,” Bodin told Red Bull. “But pulling off a double for the first time in a competition didn’t feel right. I wanted to do it without the pressure and in an environment that I could control.”
Success smelled particularly sweet for Bodin, who was returning to the sport after fracturing five vertebrae in a crash from a 215-foot ski jump. “It just can’t be described—nobody in this world can understand the feeling,” the athlete said of his record-breaking trick. He has no plans to attempt the stunt at the X-Games, leaving the stage open for Moore and Frisby to double his effort.
Since Bodin can’t articulate it, we suggest watching the historic stunt from his perspective in the video below.
—RealClearLife Staff
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