Tuesday, November 28

Summer X Games 1999: A Review

By Ron Buck, ESPN.com

| History | 99 Summer X Games Review | 99 Summer X Games Results | | Results from 1995 / 96/ 97/ 98/ 99 |


X Games V leaves lasting impression on new home

By Ron Buck, ESPN.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- The X Games can make your head spin. So many events, so many athletes ... so little time. But it took only three days in San Francisco for a story to unfold that defined X Games V.

Leave it to Tony Hawk to give the 1999 X Games its defining moment.

Dave Mirra got his fistfull of gold again. The Land of the Rising Sun rose to the top in in-line skates. The lugers survived the Cliff House Turn. And a record-setting turnout of 268,390 fans watched the Games in the City by the Bay.

But at 8:32 p.m. PT on June 27, 1999 history was made in skateboarding. And like any great achievement in sports, Hawk's unbridled determination in the Best Trick competition to land the first '900' provided theater. Somehow we all knew we weren't going home that chilly night until the legendary skateboarder had fulfilled his quest.

When Hawk did exactly that on his 11th attempt at boarding immortality, everyone in attendance knew they'd truly seen something special at X Games V.

What came before and after Hawk's historic night was a blur at times, but no less thrilling to those of us lucky enough to be on hand to see the athletes who make extreme sports seem simple at times. So, before we start getting ready for the first X Games of the millennium, let's take a look back at what the last X Games of the 20th Century produced.

Skateboarding
Before Hawk stole the show once again in the halfpipe, his good friend Bucky Lasek finally took centerstage a night earlier by beating both Hawk and Andy Macdonald in a classic vert final. Lasek used the most prestigious vert contest in the world to finally put his mark on skateboarding. Lasek won a thrilling -- and chilling -- three-way battle with Macdonald and Hawk to take home gold in X Games V on Pier 30. The victory was Lasek's first over Hawk and also kept Macdonald from defending the gold he won last year in San Diego.

Bicycle Stunt Riding
Someday, someone else beside Mirra will win X Games gold in the halfpipe and on the street. It just won't be in the 90's. Mirra enters the next century of stunt riding as arguably the best to ever ride on two wheels at X Games. The "Miracle Boy" won his third straight vert gold and made it four straight golds on the street. The two gold medals give him eight in his career. He also has two silver medals from a few years ago to give him by far the most gold and overall medals of any X Games athlete.

Aggressive in-line skating
They may have traveled the furthest to get to this year's X Games, but the Japanese contingent left San Francisco with their bags full of gold.

It started on the street with Sayaka Yabe winning her second street gold and ended with Eito Yasutoko and Ayumi Kawasaki dethroning the king and queen of vert in the halfpipe. Yasutoko won the men's vert title by beating Cesar Mora, while Kawasaki ended Fabiola da Silva's three-year reign. The other individual in-line gold went to Canadian Nicky Adams in men's street.

Sport Climbing
Aaron Shamy has become synonomous with rock climbing at the X Games the past three years. But the X Games will be without this bundle of energy for the next two years when he takes a climbing sabbatical on a Mormon mission. Shamy, however, gave us one heck of a finale when he won the speed climbing gold. Bouldering, the newest form of climbing at the X Games, produced a pair of new gold medalists, as Chris Sharma finally made it to the top in his fourth attempt and Stephanie Bodet ended Katie Brown's three-year hold on the women's gold.

Wakeboarding
The San Francisco Bay was where Parks Bonifay reclaimed his gold and a pair of 15-year-olds served noticed that they are the next wave of stars in the X Games water.

Street Luge
The feel-good story of the X Games came on the streets of San Francisco, were Dennis Derammelaere returned from a serious leg injury suffered practicing for the '98 X Games to win gold in a dual mass final decided by the slightest of margins. It was Derammelaere's first gold medal at the X Games after winning bronze in '96 and silver in '97. Derammelaere competed with a titanium plate in his leg and six screws in his ankle beating Lee Dansie in the final. Biker Sherlock took the bronze. The super mass gold went to David Rogers, a mechanical engineer who designed his own sled and became an instant contender. Sherlock took the silver to become the only two-time medalist at this year's street luge competition, while Sean Slate won bronze.

Big Air Snowboarding
Barrett Christy wasn't sure snowboarding and summer went together. Now Christy can't wait to come back to the summer-style X Games to defend her gold medal. Christy is no stranger to X Games gold. She won the 1997 and 1999 big air events at the Winter X Games. She also took '98 gold in slopestyle. She was joined on top of the awards podium by Peter Line, who won his second X Games big air gold in three summers.

Moto X
Let's just say Moto X made a splash in its debut at the X Games and leave it at that. Travis Pastrana and his wild gang of freestyle motocross fliers stole the show for three days and guaranteed themselves an invite to next year's Games.

For in-depth news and reviews on the 1999 Summer X Games go to http://espn.go.com/extreme/xgames/index.html