Jayden Archer, motocross athlete and X Games medalist, dies at 27

Jayden Archer, motocross athlete and X Games medalist, dies at 27

Freestyle motocross star Jayden Archer died on Wednesday while practicing a triple backflip in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia. Archer was 27 years old.

Archer was an established figure in the Australian motocross community and was also a member of Nitro Circus, an action sports media company that was founded by motocross star Travis Pastrana.

“This really hit home,” Pastrana told ESPN. “Jayo [Archer] grew up in a time when action sports was at its biggest and he always wanted to do the big stuff like the double and the triple, even though there weren’t a lot of places to showcase those bigger tricks. He’d get up every morning at 4 a.m. and go to the gym before work so he could ride his dirtbike. When he came to Maryland to train, he stayed at my house and was an incredible role model to my kids. He was a great human first, a hard worker second and a bad m—–f–er third.”

Archer is one of just three riders to ever land a triple backflip in a motocross competition. He became the first performer to land the trick during a competition when he did so in November 2022. Archer ended up winning a gold medal in “Best Trick” at the Nitro World Games in Brisbane, Australia.

Archer worked as an assistant mechanic before becoming one of the biggest stars in the sport. He last landed the triple backflip at a Nitro Circus Live Show in Jay, Oklahoma in June 2023.

He was a two-time X Games medalist and a suspension technician and mechanic for Raceline Performance and Factory Husqvarna Racing in Australia.