Professional bicycle motocross (BMX) rider Dave Mirra was found dead on Thursday, Feb. 4, of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to NBC News, police found Mirra sitting in his truck at around 4 p.m. Eastern Time. He was 41.
Mirra first rose to prominence as a competitor in the X Games, competing and medalling in various BMX categories from the competition’s start in 1995 until 2005 and then again from 2007 to 2009. Following his retirement from the BMX category of the X Games in 2009, Mirra became a rally driver, competing for Subaru Rally Team USA in 2012 and 2013.
According to ESPN’s biography of Mirra on their X Games site, Mirra continued to hold the record for most X Games medals in history until Bob Burnquist finally broke his record at X Games Munich, also in 2013.
Mirra’s success in BMX brought him success off the track, as well: he hosted two seasons of MTV’s “Real World/Road Rules Challenge” and had a video game series, “Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX,” named after him.
While Mirra focused on many things other than BMX following his retirement from the sport, including triathlons, his focus had recently returned to BMX, according to ESPN. Mirra built a BMX ramp in his adopted hometown of Greenville, North Carolina. Mirra’s Instagram feed was also plastered with iconic photos of his past BMX exploits.
According to NPR, Mirra posted two images to his Instagram feed just hours before his death. One showed him touching the rear wheel of his bike to the basketball hoop of a Greenville high school, while the other was a simple picture of Mirra and his wife, with the caption, “My rock! Thank god.”
Mirra is survived by his wife, Lauren, and his daughters, Mackenzie and Madison.
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