(Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)
For the past seven years, John Brenkus, creator and host of ESPN Sport Science, has helped his audience experience and appreciate the science behind sport, with more than 700 taped segments aired.
Now Brenkus is taking Sport Science to the next level at X Games Austin, which run today through Sunday across ESPN platforms. Brenkus will debut “ESPN Sport Science instant live analysis” of the X Games feats performed.
Phil Orlins, the X Games’ senior coordinating producer, said: “John and the ESPN Sport Science team take the breathtaking athleticism of the X Games and break it down in a way that the average viewer can relate to. In a nutshell, they take the complex and make it simple.”
Brenkus provides Front Row a preview of what to expect:
Why debut ESPN Sport Science instant live analysis at the X Games?
Sport Science is applicable to everything that happens at the X Games. This is exciting for everyone – especially the audience – to have ESPN Sport Science analysis available instantaneously.
What science subjects will you examine?
There’s physics in every trick, jump and race. We’ll be looking at moments of inertia, conservation of energy, angular velocity and the biomechanics of physics.
There’s Skateboard Big Air – action sports athletes going higher than the White House and longer than a football field. We love Moto X, with mind-blowing physics. In Street Skate, you have riders able “to ollie” over 35 inches on boards going faster than a helicopter. It’s awesome.
What are the challenges of instant live analysis?
The biggest challenge is reacting to the unexpected – things that you can’t control.
How many instant analysis segments will be aired?
We will be in Austin for every single event, so you will see ESPN Sport Science pieces throughout the X Games. Each segment will be 30 seconds to a minute and a half, depending on what we will be covering.
