2002 Asian X Games - Day 1
By Sean Mulligan
EXPN.com
Jan. 31, 2002
The first day of the Asian X Games kicked off on Thursday where the first golden ticket to the Summer X Games VIII was handed out. It was flatland day here and just like the city of Kuala Lumpur, that means one thing, it's all about tech.
On the first official day of competition for the Asian X Games, a packed crowd watched and cheered on as Takashi Ito from Japan won the bicycle stunt flatland competition on his second run with a 95.25. Using a mix of sustained speed and great balance to ride his way to the win. Ito showed barely any flaws and took the title, earning himself a ticket to the Summer X Games VIII in Philadelphia this summer.
The competition was tight, with last year's Summer X seventh place finisher and Japanese wonder, Yosuke Uno in the mix. Ito was the rider that had the cleanest run though, and despite an excellent performance from Ryoji Yamamoto during his second run, Ito was able to hold on.
The crowd favorite was clearly Malaysian born Muhammad Rezda Rahman, who pulled some difficult tricks, but could only manage seventh.
With competitions like flatland though, it's all about friendly competitiveness between the riders. It was smiles all around and plenty of high-fives as the athletes were giving it up for each other all day long.
The citizens of KL turned out in large numbers catch the action on the first day, all of it taking place in the shadow of the Patronas Twin Towers, the largest towers in the world. Under those towers also was one of the largest figures in the history of the X Games, Mr. Dave Mirra.
Mirra and Chris Senn are both in town for the competition and they will be doing demos over the next few days for the crowds, as well as signing autographs along the way.
The action and temperatures will increase over the next few days, with skateboarding and aggressive inline vert finals going down tomorrow.
Related Photos:
Malaysian X Games Gallery
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