Taka Higashino won the Moto X Freestyle gold medal at X Games Los Angeles. Image: ESPN.

Former Australian Supercross Champion Josh Hansen put forward a triumphant gold medal performance to open X Games Los Angeles in Best Whip at the Staples Centre this afternoon.

Hansen was spectacular during the competition, throwing his Suzuki upside down and backward 40 feet in the air before whipping it straight at the last moment.

The silver medalist was fan favorite Jeremy ‘Twitch’ Stenberg, while female contender Vicki Golden finished a surprise third.

Golden drew attention recently for being the first female to earn an invitation to a freestyle Moto X event at the X Games.

Narrowly missing the podium was Australian icon Robbie Maddison in what was his first Best Whip appearance at X Games.

As such competitions go, Best Whip ranks one notch above a demo, the winner being determined by a real-time popular vote on Twitter.

After edging out Adam Jones in a tie-breaker finish on Thursday night at X Games Los Angeles, Japanese rider Taka Higashino earned a three-peat in Moto X Freestyle.

“It’s crazy,” Higashino said. “I just try my best.”

Moto X Freestyle wrapped up the opening day of the final X Games Los Angeles. After 11 years in LA, X Games is moving on in 2014, with a new stop in Austin, Texas.

Higashino won his first Moto X Freestyle gold at X Games Los Angeles 2012. He won again in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in April. Moto X Freestyle was canceled due to weather at the X Games in both Munich and Barcelona.

Higashino led after the first of two runs in Thursday’s final, posting a score of 90.0 for a run that included the rock-solid backflip combo that has become his signature since he debuted it at last year’s Moto X Freestyle competition in L.A.

It proved to be the biggest score of the day, but Jones matched it in run two, and Higashino matched it yet again, earning enough points to break the tie with a run featuring a holy grab, rock-solid flip, no hand flip, stripper Superman seatgrab combo, an indy air combo, a kiss-of-death flip, a Cordova flip and a lazy boy flip.

Nate Adams rounded out the podium, his first Moto X Freestyle medal since winning gold in 2011.

Australians Rob Adelberg and Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams finished fifth and sixth respectively. Countryman Jackson Strong crashed while attempting a body varial as his last trick of his second run and sustained a right foot fracture.