The Winter X Games in Aspen were a success for ESPN over this past weekend, scoring solid ratings and offering fans an exciting competition that saw Shaun White close the games with a gold medal. But not everything went smoothly during the games.
Snowmobiler Caleb Moore suffered a serious injury after getting into an accident during competition and according to ABCNews.com and ESPN.com, Moore is in critical condition in the hospital. The injury occurred while Moore was racing and his snowmobile flipped on top of him during a violent crash.
The Moore family released a statement to ABC News through family spokeswoman Chelsea Lawson saying, "Caleb is in critical condition and is being closely monitored. The Moores want to express their gratitude to all of Caleb's fans, friends and family for their strong support and ask for continued prayers in the coming days."
Moore has won medals at the games and he developed complications in his heart and brain after suffering an accident Thursday night during the Snowmobile Freestyle finals. The crash occurred when Moore was attempting to pull a backflip and came up short, making the vehicle flip over on top of him as he went over the handlebars.
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.
Moore had to go through heart surgery on Friday and has been in intensive care. Moore family released a statement through ABC's sister network ESPN saying, "his cardiac injury has led to a secondary complication involving his brain."
Moore's younger brother Colten Moore, 23, also competed in the Snowmobile Freestyle finals and crashed during the X Games competition but his injury was not serious and did not need surgery. The elder Moore is originally from Krum, Texas and has three Winter X Games medals, including last year's bronze in the Snowmobile Freestyle.
In the actual competition, Levi LaVallee came in first for the gold, followed by Joe Parsons and Justin Hoyer. The news dampens the end of the games in Aspen, which overall wwere a success for the athletes and ESPN.
Olympian Shaun White closed out the 2013 Winter X Games with a gold medal win, his sixth gold medal in the Snowboard SuperPipe to tie Snowmobile SnoCross racer Tucker Hibbert's six-peat from Sunday afternoon, which were the first two times that has ever been done in X Games winter sports history.
White has been dominant over both the summer and winter X Games, winning 15 X Games gold medals between snowboarding and skateboarding, including eight in the SuperPipe. During his run on Sunday night, he took the top two scores of the entire field, including a 98.00 on his second run.
There was also another accident during the games, as a snowmobile flipped over and ran off on its own, crashing into a crowd on the side of one of the Aspen slopes. There were no serious injuries. Moore began his career with ATV racing and competitions.
The X Games will continue later in the year from Tignes, France from March 20 to the March 22. HERE is a full list of results and tricks from the Aspen events.
