Joe Scarnici/Getty Images
The kicker: Kotsenburg had never tried this trick in his life.
So how did Kotsenburg make this risky decision? With a little help from his brother Blaze who was watching from Park City, Utah.
Sage called his brother 10 minutes before his run who was watching the event in Utah on a livestream with a bunch of friends and told him he was thinking of adding the backside 1620 Japan. Here's how Blaze responded (via Aljazeera America):
"Really? Send it, I guess. Might as well. You're at the Olympics."
Blaze's simple response was enough encouragement for Sage and he went through with the trick, landed it perfectly and got a score of 93.50 from the judges.
Look at him fly:
Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Getty Images