Taka Higashino wins as X-Fighters arrives in Osaka

Hometown hero Taka Higashino wins the first Red Bull X-Fighters Word Tour event hosted in Japan.

Japan‰Ûªs Taka Higashino pulled off a spectacular victory over Tom Pages at the first-ever Red Bull X-Fighters stop in Japan, giving his home country a fascinating first taste of FMX.

The result means that after the fourth stop of the six-round 2013 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour we have witnessed four different winners in the four races.

On an evening that put the spotlight on Japanese traditions, Higashino had the excited crowd behind him every jump of the way through the quarter-finals to the semi-finals and into the final against Pages. After dominating Qualifying on Friday, it was the Frenchman who was the hot favourite to win the main event, where the riders leaped up to 30 meters in distance and 15 meters high while performing gravity-defying tricks.

When the final got underway it was the 28-year-old Japanese ace who had the run of his life. It was an emotional night for Higashino, the FMX rider grew up just 15 minutes away from the breathtaking venue next to the majestic Osaka Castle in the Nishinomaru Garden.

Higashino may have left his hometown of Osaka seven years ago for the FMX hotbed of California but his performance on Saturday night made him an instant hometown hero.

‰ÛÏI can‰Ûªt believe it,‰Û