24-time X Games medalist Dave Mirra dies in apparent suicide

Mirra was found in his truck by Greenville, North Carolina police earlier today with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He leaves behind a wife and two children.

Today, Mirra is known as one of the most successful X Games athletes in history. His 24 medals (14 gold) are records only recently broken by Bob Burnquist and Shaun White.

After turning pro at the age of 17 and narrowly surviving being struck by a drunk driver when he was 19, Mirra finished 2nd in BMX Vert in the first ever X Games (1995), quickly asserted himself as one of the best in the sport. Since then, he's invented several of his own, now famous tricks.

In an Instagram post earlier today, Mirra posted the following photo of him and his wife:

Mirra's official website bio

"It is rare that an athlete truly transcends their sport, but BMX legend Dave Mirra has done just that – achieving iconic status not only in the world of BMX but in all of action sports and beyond. Winning more X Games gold medals than any other competitor in the history of the Games, his rise to the top has not been an easy one.

Riding the streets on his BMX bike with his older brother, Mirra was jumping curbs and flying over dirt jumps by the age of five. In 1992, after graduating from high school he turned pro and quickly overthrew Mat Hoffman as the undisputed vert champion. In 1993, a drunk driver struck Mirra and nearly ended his career, but since then Mirra has not only recovered and returned to his bike, he has become the most decorated X Games BMX rider of all time with more than 20 medals to his name.

"In 2000, he became the first park rider to land a double backflip in competition, and has topped almost every major podium at least once. Initially competing in both the vert and park disciplines of the Dew Tour, Mirra finished fifth in the vert year-end standings on the 2005 Dew Tour, but was unable to finish out the ‘06 season after he lacerated his liver at the second stop of the Tour and he has not competed in vert since. His consistency in 2009 resulted in his best park finish on the Dew Tour circuit, taking second place overall after opening the Tour with a first-place finish at the Nike 6.0 BMX Open.

"Holding nearly every accolade possible for a BMX or action sports athlete, Mirra has won everything from “Freestyler of The Year” by BMX Magazine to the ESPN Action Sports and Music Award for BMX Rider of the Year in 2000. After a brief stint hosting the popular MTV series “Real World/Road Rules Challenge,” Mirra and his wife settled down in Greenville, N.C., quickly making it the hub of the BMX world."

Mirra's final medal came in BMX Big Air in 2009. He's also competed in several rally/X Games events with Subaru (and later Mini), which also included multiple seasons of Global RallyCross competition.

This is just a brief glimpse at the incredible career of an insanely talented man. He will be missed and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family he left behind.