vicki golden flaming board record
YouTube: History

Pro Motocross Rider Vicki Golden Smashes Through 13 Flaming Boards in Record-Breaking Stunt


Advertisement

When it comes to pulling off insane stunts, Vicki Golden has made the seemingly impossible look easy. But, on July 7, 2019, the three-time X Games gold medalist took it to another level of extreme when she smashed through 13 plywood firewalls on a motorcycle, breaking a 12-year-old world record and achieving a feat that even renowned stuntman Evel Knievel couldn't complete.

The ridiculously dangerous stunt was part of "Evel Live 2," the second annual televised event, put on by The History Channel and action-sports group Nitro Circus, that recreates stunts attempted by Knievel himself during his heydey in the '60s and '70s. Golden's recreation was a homage to the 1966 debut show of "Knievel and his Daredevils" in Indio, California, where Knievel shattered flaming boards, performed wheelies, and jumped over two pickup trucks.

Traveling at 30 MPH, the 27-year-old Golden became the first woman to set a new world record for riding through flaming wooden boards, beating the 12-board record set by Louis "Rocket" Re in 2007.

WATCH: Vicki Golden Breaks Record at "Evel Live 2"

Advertisement

"This was such an iconic record to go after," Golden told Good Morning America after the stunt. "It's not something you hear about every day, everyone always wants to jump as far as they can possibly go and this was just something that just felt so good that it was inspired by Evel Knievel himself that I just had to go after it."

"It sounds easy to count to 13 but not when you're doing all that. I totally lost track of what I was doing."

Golden's inspiration for the fiery stunt was her late father, a dirt bike racer who ended up getting paralyzed in an accident.

"My dad was a huge Evel Knievel fan," Golden said, according to History.com. "I did it for him and I did it for Evel."

Advertisement

Vicki Golden's mother was there to see her daughter complete the stunt, which only added to the emotion of the day.

"She's been there for all my struggles and maybe one or two of the celebrations so for her to be there for this [was] special," Golden said.

Unfortunately, not every stunt ended successfully. During a practice run only days before the event, 22-year-old freestyle motocross athlete Axell Hodges seriously injured his ankles and was unable to attempt his two stunts: One where he was meant to soar more than 200 feet over 25 semi trucks and another that, if completed, would have broken Robbie Maddison's record of 378 feet and 9 inches as the longest motorcycle jump for all time.

Advertisement

Read More: FMX Legend No-Handed Backflips Over Iconic Bridge

Vicki Golden's Motocross Career

Vicki Golden has racked up a number of impressive accomplishments during his motocross career. The San Diego, California native started racing at the age of seven, but her career really took off at 16, when she raced the Loretta Lynn's Amateur Motocross National Championships in Tennessee and won the Women's Amateur National Champion title.

The freestyle motocross rider is also the first woman to compete in a freestyle Moto X competition, earning the bronze medal in the best whip category. Speaking of firsts, Golden is also the first woman in Energy AMA Supercross to qualify for the "Fast 40.? Having won three consecutive gold medals in Women's Moto X Racing at the X Games, Golden was nominated for an ESPY Award in 2014 for Best Female Action Sports Athlete. She is also the first female team member of Metal Mulisha, a lifestyle clothing brand that sponsors various racers.

This post was originally published on September 19, 2019.

Advertisement

WATCH: Jolene Van Vugt: The Former Nitro Circus Star Is a Hollywood Stuntwoman