Dave Mirra

For the Australian footballer, see David Mirra.

David Michael Mirra^[1] (April 4, 1974 – February 4, 2016) was an American BMX rider who also competed in rallycross racing. He set the record for most medals in BMX Freestyle at the X Games (later tied by Scotty Cranmer) and earned at least one BMX medal at the event in all but one year from the competition's inception in 1995 until 2009.^[2] He also competed for several years with the Subaru Rally Team USA as a rallycross driver. Mirra rode for and was fully sponsored by Haro Bikes from the mid-1990s until he started his own bike company. He was a member of the team which won the 2014 Race Across America four-person male (under 50) category.^[3] Mirra died by suicide on February 4, 2016.^[4] He was posthumously inducted into the BMX Hall of Fame on June 11, 2016.^[5]

Dave Mirra

Mirra in 2010
Personal information
Full name	David Michael Mirra
Nickname(s)	"Miracle Boy", "Miracle Man"
Born	(1974-04-04)April 4, 1974 Chittenango, New York, U.S.
Died	February 4, 2016(2016-02-04) (aged 41) Greenville, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Extreme sports athlete
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Spouse	Lauren Blackwell Mirra ​ ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	2
Sport
Sport	BMX, Rallycross
Medal record Summer X Games Representing  United States 1996 Newport BMX Park 1997 San Diego BMX Park 1997 San Diego BMX Vert 1998 San Diego BMX Park 1998 San Diego BMX Vert 1998 San Diego BMX Vert Doubles 1999 San Francisco BMX Park 1999 San Francisco BMX Vert 2000 San Francisco BMX Park 2001 Philadelphia BMX Vert 2002 Philadelphia BMX Vert 2004 Los Angeles BMX Park 2004 Los Angeles BMX Vert 2005 Los Angeles BMX Park 1995 Newport BMX Vert 1996 Newport BMX Vert 2000 San Francisco BMX Vert 2003 Los Angeles BMX Vert 2005 Los Angeles BMX Vert Best Trick 2008 Los Angeles BMX Big Air 2003 Los Angeles BMX Park 2007 Los Angeles BMX Park 2008 Los Angeles RCR Racing 2009 Los Angeles BMX Big Air Gravity Games 1999 Providence BMX Park 2000 Providence BMX Vert 2002 Cleveland BMX Park 2003 Cleveland BMX Park 2003 Cleveland BMX Vert 2002 Cleveland BMX Vert
Updated on February 5, 2016

Early life

Mirra was born on April 4, 1974, in Chittenango, New York.^[6] He graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona).^[7]

In the 1990s, Mirra's brother, Tim, moved to Greenville, North Carolina, to attend East Carolina University. Dave moved to Greenville soon after.^[2] Fellow professional BMX rider Ryan Nyquist moved in with Tim. Mirra and Nyquist became quick friends and would build and ride ramps together. Greenville is now home to over twenty professional BMX riders.^[8] This gave Greenville the nickname "Protown" in the BMX community.^[9]

Career

While still living in Chittenango, Mirra joined the Haro Bikes BMX team in 1987, at the age of 13. Video producers Plywood Hoods featured him in their videos in 1988. Mirra gained a sponsorship from Vision Street Wear in 1989.^[10] He was also sponsored by GT Bicycles through 1991, and then joined Hoffman Bikes in 1992 before re-signing with Haro in 1994.^[10]

Mirra turned professional in 1992. He won at least one medal at the X Games in every year from 1995 through 2009, with the exception of 2006,^[2] after being injured during a practice run.^[11] In 2005, Mirra won the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award.^[12] He tied Tony Hawk and Joe Parsons as the fastest to reach 14 X Games medals,^[10] and his 24 total medals at the X Games stood as a record until 2013.^[13] He shares the record for most gold medals at the Summer X Games, with a total of 14 (tied with Bob Burnquist and Jamie Bestwick).^[14][15] He retired from BMX riding in 2011.^[10]

Mirra's Subaru rally car

From 2008 through 2013, Mirra competed in rallying and rallycross as a member of Subaru Rally Team USA. He had a career-best fourth-place finish during the 2013 Global RallyCross Championship.^[10] Mirra became interested in Ironman competitions, competing in his first triathlon in March 2013.^[13][16] He qualified for the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championship.^[15]

Mirra's success took him to numerous outlets besides riding his bike, such as hosting two seasons of MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge. He is featured in the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX video game series and more recently appeared in the 2009 video game Colin McRae: Dirt 2.^[17] He published a photo-biography titled Mirra Images,^[18] and was once one of People magazine's "50 Hottest Bachelors".^[19] In the mid-2000s, Mirra signed an endorsement deal with DC Shoes after leaving Adidas. With his friends in 2007, he started his own bike company called MirraCo.^[10][20]

Personal life and death

Mirra and his wife, Lauren, had two daughters.^[13] Mirra contracted bacterial meningitis in 2010. He recovered before resuming rally racing.^[19]

On February 4, 2016, Mirra died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in Greenville, North Carolina at the age of 41.^[21] Authorities responded to a reported suicide and discovered his body inside his black Ford F-150 Raptor.^[22] He had reportedly been visiting friends in the area. Greenville mayor Allen M. Thomas called Mirra "a great friend and wonderful human being".^[10][13][23]

Mirra was posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).^[24] In addition to the "countless" concussions he suffered during his career, his skull was fractured when he was hit by a car at 19 years old, and he also competed in boxing as an amateur. He became the first action sports star to be diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease.^[25]

Mirra's wife chose to support several charitable causes in her husband's memory, including CTE research, Road 2 Recovery Foundation, and More Than Sport.^[26]

City officials in Greenville, North Carolina planned to create an action sports park to honor Mirra's legacy. The first phase would include both skate and BMX facilities.^[27]

In 2024, Mirra's family dedicated a permanent statue of Dave Mirra at the Jaycee skatepark in Greenville, where Mirra skated when he moved to the area in 1995. The memorial was created by his friends, including BMX rider Mike Laird who did the fabrication.^[28][29]

X Games competition history

GOLD (14) SILVER (6) BRONZE (4)

YEAR	X GAMES	EVENTS	RANK	MEDAL
1995	Extreme Games	BMX Vert	2nd
1996	Summer X Games II	BMX Street	1st
1996	Summer X Games II	BMX Vert	2nd
1997	Summer X Games III	BMX Street	1st
1997	Summer X Games III	BMX Vert	1st
1998	Summer X Games IV	BMX Street	1st
1998	Summer X Games IV	BMX Vert	1st
1998	Summer X Games IV	BMX Vert Doubles	1st
1999	Summer X Games V	BMX Street	1st
1999	Summer X Games V	BMX Vert	1st
2000	Summer X Games VI	BMX Park	1st
2000	Summer X Games VI	BMX Vert	2nd
2001	Summer X Games VII	BMX Park	6th
2001	Summer X Games VII	BMX Vert	1st
2002	Summer X Games VIII	BMX Park	4th
2002	Summer X Games VIII	BMX Vert	1st
2003	Summer X Games IX	BMX Park	3rd
2003	Summer X Games IX	BMX Vert	2nd
2004	Summer X Games X	BMX Park	1st
2004	Summer X Games X	BMX Vert	1st
2005	Summer X Games XI	BMX Vert	7th
2005	Summer X Games XI	BMX Park	1st
2005	Summer X Games XI	BMX Vert Best Trick	2nd
2007	Summer X Games XIII	BMX Park	3rd
2008	Summer X Games XIV	BMX Big Air	2nd
2008	Summer X Games XIV	Rally Car Racing	3rd
2009	Summer X Games XV	BMX Big Air	3rd
2011	Summer X Games XVII	RallyCross	5th
2012	Summer X Games XVIII	RallyCross	15th
2013	X Games Munich 2013	RallyCross	14th

Racing record

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

Supercar

Year	Entrant	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WRX	Points	Ref
2015	JRM Racing	Mini Countryman	POR	HOC 17	BEL	GBR	GER	SWE	CAN	NOR	FRA	BAR	TUR	ITA	ARG	40th	0	[30]

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results

Supercar

Year	Entrant	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	GRC	Points	Ref
2011	Subaru Rally Team USA	Subaru Impreza WRX STI	IRW1	IRW2	SEA1 5	SEA2 6	PIK1	PIK2	LA1 6	LA2 5		8th	57	[31]
2012	Subaru Puma Rallycross Team USA	Subaru Impreza WRX STI	CHA 9	TEX 11	LA 15	LOU 10	LV 13	LVC 6				12th	35	[32]
2013	Subaru Puma Rallycross Team USA	Subaru Impreza WRX STI	BRA	MUN1 15	MUN2 14	LOU 13	BRI 11	IRW 15	ATL 4	CHA 12	LV DNS	12th	36	[33]