Extreme Sports

A chronological archive of extreme sports across twelve disciplines — surf, skate, snow, BMX, moto, climbing, base/wingsuit, MMA, parkour, kayak, sled — from the founding moments to the present.

A chronological documentary of 96 moments spanning 1865–2025 on Loreline.

last updated 2026-07-16

1. 1865-07-14 — First ascent of the Matterhorn. Edward Whymper's party summits the Matterhorn — four die on the descent. The accident plays in newspapers worldwide; the Golden Age of Alpinism ends.
2. 1885 — Cresta Run — first toboggan track. The Cresta Run in St Moritz opens — the first dedicated toboggan racing track. Skeleton racing (head-first) emerges directly from it.
3. 1907 — Isle of Man TT founded. The Isle of Man TT motorcycle road-race launches. Becomes the deadliest motorsports event still running — over 260 fatalities by 2024.
4. 1953 — Hillary + Tenzing summit Everest. Edmund Hillary (NZ) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) reach the summit of Everest. The first confirmed ascent of the world's highest peak.
5. 1954 — First ascent of K2. Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio summits K2 — the world's second-highest and most technically demanding 8000er.
6. 1957 — Gidget novel — surf hits pop culture. Frederick Kohner publishes Gidget; the 1959 film triggers the Californian surf boom and a generation of teenagers buying boards.
7. 1965 — Sherman Poppen — the Snurfer. Sherman Poppen straps two skis together as a Christmas-day toy for his daughter. The Snurfer ships commercially in 1966 — the first mass-market snowboard.
8. 1966 — The Endless Summer. Bruce Brown's surf-documentary follows two surfers chasing summer around the world. The film codifies surf cinema and the search-for-the-perfect-wave mythology.
9. 1968 — Duke Kahanamoku exports surfing. Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku begins giving public surf demonstrations on the US East Coast and Australia, spreading surfing beyond Hawaii.
10. 1968 — Luge enters the Olympics. Luge becomes an Olympic medal sport at the 1964 Innsbruck Games — top speeds over 140 km/h with no brakes or steering.
11. 1972 — Urethane wheels (Cadillac). Frank Nasworthy invents urethane skateboard wheels, replacing the clay/steel wheels of the 60s. Grip and ride quality jump overnight; the modern skateboard is now possible.
12. 1972 — AMA Supercross founded. The AMA Supercross series launches at the LA Coliseum — moto racing in stadiums on engineered tracks. The format dominates US motorcycle sport for decades.
13. 1974 — Evel Knievel — Snake River Canyon. Evel Knievel attempts to jump Snake River Canyon, Idaho on a steam-powered Skycycle. Chute deploys early; he survives. Made-for-TV daredevil culture peaks.
14. 1975 — Z-Boys — empty pool era. The Zephyr team (Tony Alva, Jay Adams, Stacy Peralta) skates the empty backyard pools of drought-era LA. Vert skating is born; subject of Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001).
15. 1978 — Carl Boenish — first El Cap BASE jump. Filmmaker Carl Boenish films four skydivers BASE-jumping from El Capitan. The BASE acronym (Building / Antenna / Span / Earth) is coined; modern BASE is born.
16. 1979 — Tom Sims wins first contest. Tom Sims wins the first US National Snowboard Championship at Suicide Six, Vermont. The contest-era begins.
17. 1979 — Paris-Dakar Rally. The Paris-Dakar Rally launches — Paris to Dakar across the Sahara. The most demanding annual motorsport event; relocates to South America (2009) and Saudi Arabia (2020) over deaths and security.
18. 1981 — First snowboard halfpipe. A halfpipe dug at Soda Springs, California hosts the first halfpipe-format snowboarding contest. The architecture that will define competitive snowboarding is set.
19. 1982 — BMX racing — first sanctioned era. BMX Action magazine launches and the American Bicycle Association sanctions national BMX racing. The discipline becomes a competitive scene with rankings.
20. 1984 — The Bones Brigade Video Show. Stacy Peralta's Bones Brigade Video Show (Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain, Mike McGill) defines the VHS-era skate-video format.
21. 1986-03-21 — RAD film — BMX pop culture. Hal Needham's RAD goes to cinemas. Despite middling reviews it becomes the BMX cult film and runs constantly on cable through the late 80s.
22. 1986 — Rodney Mullen — flatground ollie. Rodney Mullen invents the flatground ollie (a vertical takeoff with no ramp). Every modern street trick descends from it.
23. 1992 — Kelly Slater wins first world title. At 20, Kelly Slater wins his first ASP world title. He will go on to 11 world titles — more than any surfer in history — across four decades.
24. 1993 — UFC 1 — Royce Gracie wins. The Ultimate Fighting Championship launches in Denver with a no-rules, no-time-limit tournament. Royce Gracie wins three fights in a single night with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The discipline becomes mandatory for serious fighters overnight.
25. 1994 — Mark Foo dies at Mavericks. Big-wave surfer Mark Foo drowns at Mavericks, California. The first death at a major big-wave spot puts the discipline's risk profile on the global radar.
26. 1995 — Modern whitewater kayaking — short boats. Plastic-rotomolded short kayaks (Dagger, Wave Sport) replace fibreglass long-boats. Steep-creek and play-boating disciplines emerge.
27. 1995 — ESPN X-Games launch. ESPN launches the Extreme Games in Newport, Rhode Island. Combines skate, BMX, sky-surfing, in-line, street luge. The action-sports television era begins.
28. 1999 — Tony Hawk — first 900. At the 1999 X-Games, Tony Hawk lands the first-ever skateboarding 900 (2.5 rotations). One of the most-replayed clips in extreme-sports history.
29. 1999 — Freestyle Motocross debuts at X-Games. Freestyle Motocross (FMX) becomes a medal sport at the 1999 X-Games — Brian Deegan wins the inaugural gold.
30. 1999 — Tao Berman — 98-foot Johnstone Falls. Tao Berman runs 98-foot Upper Johnston Falls — the highest waterfall descent at the time. Sets the world record at age 20.
31. 2000 — Dave Mirra — backflip 180 (the "Mirra flip"). Dave Mirra debuts the back-flip-180 to fakie ("Mirra flip") at the 1998 X-Games. Dominates BMX vert with 14 X-Games medals over the next decade.
32. 2000 — Laird Hamilton — Millennium Wave at Teahupo'o. Laird Hamilton rides the "Millennium Wave" at Teahupo'o, Tahiti — declared one of the heaviest waves ever ridden. The shot becomes the most-circulated surf image of the decade.
33. 2001 — Mat Hoffman — 20-foot quarterpipe. Mat Hoffman builds the first 20-foot quarterpipe, towed in by motorcycle, and lands airs no one else can. Vert BMX as a discipline crystallises.
34. 2001 — Red Bull Crashed Ice founded. Red Bull Crashed Ice launches as ice cross downhill — speed skaters racing four-wide down an urban ice track with jumps. Stockholm 2001 hosts the first.
35. 2001 — Red Bull Rampage — MTB freeride. Red Bull Rampage launches in Virgin, Utah — mountain bikers ride down a near-vertical desert canyon. The riskiest MTB event in the world.
36. 2003 — Jump London documentary. Channel 4's Jump London brings Sébastien Foucan, David Belle's collaborator, to a UK audience. Coins "freerunning" for English-speakers.
37. 2003 — Red Bull Air Race. launches — stunt pilots flying through pylon courses at low altitude. Runs 2003-2010 then 2014-2019 before discontinuation.
38. 2005 — Baker 3 — street skating peak. Baker Skateboards releases Baker 3 (Andrew Reynolds, Bryan Herman, Erik Ellington). The DVD defines the "Baker era" of gritty East-LA street skating.
39. 2005 — Danny Way Great Wall jump. Danny Way jumps the Great Wall of China on a Mega Ramp. Five jumps, the last with a broken ankle. The megaramp goes mainstream.
40. 2006 — Pride Fighting Championships launch. Pride FC launches in Tokyo with Rickson Gracie vs Nobuhiko Takada. The Japanese ring-format, theatrical-entrance era of MMA begins.
41. 2006 — Travis Pastrana — first FMX double backflip. Travis Pastrana lands the first double backflip in FMX competition at the 2006 X-Games. The crowd shot is one of the X-Games' most-circulated moments.
42. 2006 — Anderson Silva — UFC middleweight reign. Anderson Silva begins a record 16-fight UFC win streak as middleweight champion (2006-2013). The longest title reign in UFC history.
43. 2006 — Casino Royale — Madagascar chase. The opening chase of Casino Royale stars Sébastien Foucan running across a construction site. Parkour enters Hollywood mainstream.
44. 2007 — Robbie Maddison — MGM Grand jump. Robbie Maddison jumps a moto onto the MGM Grand replica Arc de Triomphe on New Year's Eve, then crashes the landing. Defines the next-level moto stunt era.
45. 2008 — Travis Rice — That's It That's All. Travis Rice's film That's It, That's All redefines big-mountain snowboarding film. Backcountry-line + heli-pickup style copied for the next decade.
46. 2008 — Garrett Reynolds — Street League era. Garrett Reynolds wins the X-Games BMX street gold and the next year, and the year after. Becomes the first multi-X-Games BMX street champion.
47. 2008 — Ueli Steck — Eiger speed record. Ueli Steck climbs the Eiger North Face in 2 hours 47 minutes — half the previous record. Speed alpinism becomes a recognised discipline.
48. 2009-02-08 — Nitro Circus — tour launch. Travis Pastrana's Nitro Circus launches as a global live-tour brand bringing FMX, BMX, scooter and skate stunts to arenas worldwide.
49. 2009 — Tyler Bradt — 189-foot Palouse Falls. Tyler Bradt runs 189-foot Palouse Falls — the still-standing world record waterfall descent. Survives a heel injury.
50. 2010 — Nyjah Huston — Street League era. Rob Dyrdek's Street League Skateboarding launches with a $1.2M prize purse, putting street skating on the same purse-level as snowboarding. Nyjah Huston dominates the next decade.
51. 2010 — Shaun White — Double McTwist 1260 (Olympic gold). Shaun White lands the Double McTwist 1260 to win his second Olympic gold at the Vancouver halfpipe. The trick was practised on a private halfpipe built by Red Bull.
52. 2010 — Bob Burnquist — Megaramp loop. Bob Burnquist lands the first loop-of-death on the Megaramp at his Vista, California compound. The skateboarding-as-engineering era.
53. 2010-11-05 — Andy Irons era at Pipeline. Andy Irons wins his first world title and three Pipe Masters, sparking the Slater-Irons rivalry that defines surf in the 2000s.
54. 2011 — Garrett McNamara — Nazaré record. Garrett McNamara surfs a reported 78-foot wave at Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal. The town becomes the global big-wave capital almost overnight.
55. 2011 — Travis Rice — The Art of Flight. Travis Rice's follow-up The Art of Flight (Red Bull Media House) becomes the most-watched snowboard film in history. Standardises the cinema-budget action-sports doc.
56. 2011 — Jeb Corliss — Grinder. Jeb Corliss flies a wingsuit through a narrow gap in Tianmen Mountain, China. The crash at Table Mountain a year later (he survives) becomes one of the most-watched wingsuit clips.
57. 2011-07-14 — ONE Championship — global expansion. Singapore-based ONE Championship signs Demetrious Johnson, becomes the biggest MMA organisation outside the UFC, dominant in Asia.
58. 2011-12-29 — Unified Rules of MMA. New Jersey adopts the Unified Rules of MMA — weight classes, rounds, judging criteria. The framework all major regulated MMA organizations now use.
59. 2012 — Felix Baumgartner — Red Bull Stratos. Felix Baumgartner jumps from 39 km in the stratosphere, breaking the sound barrier in free-fall. Live-streamed to ~8 million concurrent viewers on YouTube — the largest live stream in YouTube history at the time.
60. 2012 — Ronda Rousey — Strikeforce / UFC women's bantamweight. Ronda Rousey wins the Strikeforce bantamweight title, then becomes UFC's first women's champion in 2013. Her armbar finish becomes one of MMA's signature techniques.
61. 2013 — Kelly Clark — first women's 1080. Kelly Clark lands the first 1080 (3 rotations) by a woman in a snowboard halfpipe at the US Open.
62. 2013 — Valery Rozov — Everest BASE jump. Valery Rozov BASE-jumps from 7,220 m on Everest's north face. The highest BASE jump ever recorded; Rozov dies four years later jumping in the Himalayas.
63. 2014-06-06 — Jamie Bestwick — X-Games vert streak. Jamie Bestwick begins a record nine-consecutive X-Games BMX vert gold-medal streak (2007-2014). Defines BMX vert for a decade.
64. 2014 — Gabriel Medina — first Brazilian world champion. Gabriel Medina wins the WSL title, the first Brazilian world champion. Kicks off the "Brazilian Storm" era — Medina, Filipe Toledo, Italo Ferreira.
65. 2014 — Sage Kotsenburg — first Olympic slopestyle gold. Sage Kotsenburg wins the first-ever Olympic snowboard slopestyle gold at Sochi 2014 with a backside 1620 Japan.
66. 2014 — Alan Eustace — higher than Stratos. Google engineer Alan Eustace jumps from 41.4 km — higher than Baumgartner. With minimal fanfare; the Stratos PR machine has moved on.
67. 2014 — Storror — YouTube parkour era. UK parkour collective Storror begins uploading rooftop runs to YouTube. Becomes the largest parkour channel; defines the "Storror style" of building-to-building jumps.
68. 2014 — Rafa Ortiz — Niagara Falls (stand-up). Rafa Ortiz plans to kayak Niagara Falls — pulls out at the last minute citing the rescue risk to spotters. The Red Bull doc Chasing Niagara becomes the genre-defining big-water film.
69. 2014-09-10 — Jake Burton founds Burton Snowboards. Jake Burton Carpenter founds Burton Snowboards in Londonderry, Vermont — the first dedicated snowboard manufacturer. Becomes synonymous with the sport.
70. 2014-09-15 — Pipeline Masters founded. The Pipeline Masters launches on Oahu's North Shore — surfing's most prestigious wave-by-wave contest. Won repeatedly by Gerry Lopez, Kelly Slater, John John Florence.
71. 2015 — Caldwell + Jorgeson — Dawn Wall free ascent. Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson make the first free ascent of El Capitan's Dawn Wall (5.14d) after 19 days on the wall. The hardest big-wall free climb in history at the time.
72. 2015 — Conor McGregor — 13 second KO of José Aldo. At UFC 194, Conor McGregor knocks out José Aldo in 13 seconds. The fastest title-fight finish in UFC history; McGregor becomes the sport's biggest pay-per-view star.
73. 2015 — Red Bull TV launches as streaming platform. Red Bull TV consolidates the brand's decade of extreme-sports content into a free streaming service. The over-the-top distribution model for niche action sports.
74. 2016 — Luke Aikins — 25,000 ft without a parachute. Luke Aikins jumps from 25,000 ft without a parachute, landing in a 100×100 ft net in Simi Valley, California. Broadcast live on Fox.
75. 2016 — Amanda Nunes — destroys Ronda Rousey. Amanda Nunes finishes Ronda Rousey in 48 seconds at UFC 207. Begins her run as the GWOAT (greatest woman of all time) — two-division champion across the next decade.
76. 2017 — Rodrigo Koxa — 80ft Nazaré record. Rodrigo Koxa rides an 80-foot wave at Nazaré, set as the Guinness world record for the largest wave ever surfed.
77. 2017 — Alex Honnold — Free Solo of El Capitan. Alex Honnold free-solos El Capitan via Freerider (5.13a) — no rope, no gear. The film Free Solo wins the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
78. 2018-02-26 — Shortboard revolution. Bob McTavish and Nat Young pioneer the shortboard, replacing 10-foot longboards with manoeuvrable sub-7-foot boards. The performance ceiling jumps overnight.
79. 2018-05-22 — Laird Hamilton tow-in at Jaws. Laird Hamilton, Buzzy Kerbox, Darrick Doerner pioneer tow-in surfing at Pe'ahi (Jaws), Maui — using jet-skis to catch waves too big to paddle. Opens the modern big-wave era.
80. 2018 — Anna Gasser — first women's 1620 big air Olympic gold. Anna Gasser wins big-air gold at PyeongChang 2018 with the first cab double cork 1080 by a woman in Olympic competition.
81. 2018 — Khabib vs McGregor — UFC 229. Khabib Nurmagomedov submits Conor McGregor at UFC 229. The post-fight brawl makes global news; the pay-per-view sells over 2.4 million buys.
82. 2018 — FIG sanctions parkour — Federation politics. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) sanctions parkour as a discipline. Parkour Earth and many traditional traceurs protest the takeover.
83. 2019 — Nirmal Purja — 14 8000ers in 6 months. Nirmal Purja summits all 14 8000-metre peaks in 6 months 6 days — destroying the previous 7-year record. Subject of the 2021 Netflix film 14 Peaks.
84. 2021 — Surfing in the Olympics — Tokyo 2020. Surfing debuts at the Tokyo Olympics at Tsurigasaki Beach. Italo Ferreira (BRA) and Carissa Moore (USA) take the first gold medals.
85. 2021 — Skateboarding in the Olympics — Tokyo 2020. Skateboarding debuts at the Tokyo Olympics. Yuto Horigome (street) and Momiji Nishiya (13, women's street) take gold.
86. 2021 — BMX freestyle Olympic debut. BMX freestyle (park) debuts at the Tokyo Olympics. Logan Martin (AUS) and Charlotte Worthington (GBR) take the first gold medals.
87. 2021 — Sport climbing at the Olympics. Sport climbing debuts at the Tokyo Olympics combining lead + speed + boulder. Alberto Ginés López (ESP) and Janja Garnbret (SLO) take first gold.
88. 2022-01-10 — David Belle + Yamakasi founded. David Belle and the Yamakasi group develop l'Art du Déplacement in Lisses, suburban Paris. Becomes the foundation of parkour.
89. 2022-05-07 — Schwinn Sting-Ray — BMX precursor. Schwinn ships the Sting-Ray. California kids race them on dirt tracks — the bike that BMX (Bicycle Motocross) is born from.
90. 2022-05-26 — Messner — Everest solo without oxygen. Reinhold Messner solos Everest without supplemental oxygen via the North Face. Considered the greatest single climb in history.
91. 2023 — Jon Jones — UFC heavyweight champion. After a decade as light-heavyweight champion, Jon Jones submits Ciryl Gane to win the vacant heavyweight title in 2:04. Two-weight UFC champion debate solidifies.
92. 2023 — Aniol Serrasolses — Antarctic ice waterfall. Aniol Serrasolses kayaks a 20-metre Antarctic glacier ice waterfall — the first descent of an ice-fall on this continent.
93. 2024 — Olympic surf at Teahupo'o. The 2024 Paris Olympics holds its surfing at Teahupo'o, Tahiti — 15,000 km from the host city. The decision puts the world's heaviest wave at the centre of the games.
94. 2024 — Breaking debuts at the Olympics — Paris 2024. Breaking (breakdancing) debuts as an Olympic medal sport at Paris 2024 at Place de la Concorde. Phil Wizard (CAN) and Ami (JPN) take first gold.
95. 2024-09-29 — Lynn Hill — first free ascent of the Nose. Lynn Hill becomes the first person to free-climb El Capitan's Nose route (5.14a). "It goes, boys" she radios — the line becomes climbing-history canon.
96. 2025-03-04 — Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game. Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater ships for PlayStation. Skate-board sales jump 50%+; an entire generation gets into skating through the game.

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