Tuesday, August 22

It's wrap on X Games

By Daniel Dodd
ESPN.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- The 2000 X Games saw some familiar sites, some new faces and some eye-popping performances by some of the most talented action sports stars on the planet. And in the process, we saw history in the making.

But even before the first kickflip or backside nollie or superman seatgrab, was the Y2K Kickoff Bash that looked back on some of the sickest, craziest, and silliest events from the last five summers. The event was hosted by actor/comedian Andy Dick with a special performance by No Doubt and appearances by Master P, Be Real, Jenna from "Survivor" and a host of other celebrities and athletes, including Mat Hoffman and Tony Hawk. It was a boost of adrenaline that would last from the first gold medal to the last.

In the inaugural Motocross Step Up event, Tommy Clowers destroyed the world record by jumping a bar set at 35 feet. If the crowd response was any indication, Step Up will be a popular event for years to come.

Teen sensation Travis Pastrana defended his 1999 Freestyle Motocross gold medal with another unbelievable performance. And this time he resisted the urge to jump into the Bay with his bike. The course designer took that possibility into account when building the course, as even Pastrana wouldn't have been able to repeat his watery stunt. Pastrana did attempt a backflip but he bailed at the last minute to avoid serious injury.

But not everyone was happy with Pastrana's win. Veteran rider Mike Jones chose to turn his post-run interview to a judge-bashing session.

"First the Gravity Games, now the X Games, I'm always getting screwed," said Jones.

"I'm out here for the people and my sponsors . . . I got good money from these guys. I don't need the X Games prize money."

Dave Mirra collected his 11th and 12th X Games medals, the most of any athlete.

On the BMX scene, Dave Mirra continued his dominance on the park course, winning his fifth straight gold medal in the event. But Mirra was outdone by Jamie Bestwick of Great Britain on the vert ramp who landed a turndown flair, the first time it has been done in X Games history, or any competition for that matter. Mirra had to settle for a silver medal, only the third time that has happened in six years.

On the dirt course, Ryan Nyquist, who had finished second or third the last three years, claimed his first-ever X Games gold medal and on the Flatland course, Trevor Meyer, who has won every BS Flatland series since 1994, was upset by Martti Kuoppa. Meyer was incensed by the judging and told EXPN.com it might be time to hang it up.

"I feel like the judges want to keep seeing new faces in there and they want to kind of edge me out or something, said Meyer. "I don't know, maybe I'm just not wanted anymore."

In-line saw history made when Eito and Takeshi Yasutoko became the first brother combo to medal in the same event at the same time in X Games history. The brothers put on a dazzling show on the vert ramp and will be a major force in future X Games competitions. Fabiola da Silva regained her vert crown after losing it last year to Ayumi Kawasaki and at the same time won her first Park gold medal. Sven Boekhorst took the men's park competition by storm, winning his seventh event of the 2000 season.

The gang on four wheels had an impressive run at the 2000 X Games as well, proving that skateboarding is continuing to grow in difficulty, popularity, and number of gold medal contenders. And although Tony Hawk was absent from the vert competition, he did skate with longtime friend Andy Macdonald to the gold medal in Vert Doubles, their fourth gold medal in four years.

"I really like the doubles event," said Hawk. "It's a whole new level of creativity. Really, there are very few doubles events. We've only had one each year for the last four years. We just like seeing what new things we can come up with. There are a lot of possibilities."

In the vert final, Pierre-Luc Gagnon and Bucky Lasek were going toe-to-toe when Lasek dropped in for the sickest Vert performance the X Games has ever seen. His score of 98.5 surpassed even Tony Hawk's touted "Perfect Run" in 1997 and and edged Gagnon for the gold medal.

"I didn't go in setting out to beat Pierre's run," Lasek would say afterward. "I set out to make the tricks I wanted to make. My main focus was to have fun and I wanted to make that known today."

On the Park course, longtime medalist Chris Senn failed to secure a podium spot for the first time due to a nagging ankle injury, opening the door for Eric Koston to take the gold medal.

The Skateboarding Best Trick competition picked up right where it left off last year, with Andy Macdonald, Bob Burnquist, Mathias Ringstrom, Tas Pappas, and Colin McKay taking skating to a whole new level. Burnquist landed a fakie 5-0, fakie kickflip out off the grind bar that astounded even himself and he also configured an eight-foot extension above the coping to raise the stakes even more. We can only imagine what we will see next year in the Best Trick competition.

In Skysurfing, Stefan Klaus and Brian Rogers rebounded from their silver medal performance last year to take the gold this year. On the sportclimbing wall, Vladimir Kazharov and Etti Hendrawati won the speed competition and last year's bronze medalists in Wakeboarding, Shane Bonifay and Maeghan Major, both climbed to the top spot this year to claim gold medals. And two veterans, Bob Ozman and Bob Pereyra, claimed the Street Luge dual and super mass gold medals respectively.

So as the X Games said goodbye to the City by the Bay, the action sports world can rest assured that San Francisco played the part of host city to perfection with perfect weather, huge crowds and a view that can't be beat.