Barcelona, Spain-More than 7,200 enthusiastic spectators came out for some sunshine on the beach and outstanding performances at the first European X Games Qualifier for 2001 at the Olympic Pier today. The best action sport athletes in Europe have been invited to participate in this year's first qualifier in Barcelona with hopes of winning more than $100,000 in prize money and, more importantly, the chance to qualify for ESPNīs premiere event, the Summer X Games in Philadelphia, USA.

Bicycle Stunt competition started today with the Flatland preliminaries and finals. In the preliminaries, Jorge Gomez of Madrid had a strong run with back-to-back tricks to take the lead and carried his number one spot through two clean runs in the finals. Gomez' victory granted him a spot to ESPN's Summer X Games. This will be his first trip to the X Games. "I am so excited. It makes me nervous to go to the X Games, competing with the best, but it has always been a dream of mine." Gomez said after his win. "I felt proud and comfortable competing for my home crowd today." Phil Dolan of United Kingdom had a second place finish going into the finals but was ousted in the finals by Finland's Martti Kuoppa who won X Games gold last year giving him an automatic spot for this year's X Games. In the Park contest, Alistair Whitten of the United Kingdom dominated the course and clinched the first place seed with a Flair Transfer (flip with a twist). Alongside Whitten for his flawless performance, were his six family members who traveled from England to watch their favorite rider. Close behind Whitten in second place was Spain's Ruben Alcantara who utilized the entire course with his fast tricks and solid, tailwhip 360 over the box. Rounding off the top three in the preliminaries was new talent from United Kingdom, Chris Mahoney who nearly landed a double backflip. His consistent technical riding did land him in third place going into the finals tomorrow.

Wakeboarding held Round 1 competition today at Castelldefels' Olympic Channel. Stephane Tranne of New Caladonia, France had a clean, technical run and with one fall still kept his lead after his first pass. Close behind with a one point difference was Nick Heany of Great Britain who played it safe on his first run going into the finals tomorrow. In the second heat, Rodo Vinh-Tong of Tahiti, France proved he is the one to beat after his near flawless run with a perfect Whirly Bird (inverted over-head 360š) and Batwing (toe-side railey with an indy grab) to pull into the lead with a score of 54.33. Spain had a good showing of athletes, as three riders will go on to the finals tomorrow.

Skateboarding started today with the Vert preliminaries and finals. Going into the finals, the contest belonged to the Scandinavians with extraordinary talent from Jussi Korhonen of Finland and Jocke Olsson of Sweden. As the second youngest skateboarder at 18, Korhonen is known for his cutting-edge tricks and technical skating. He clinched gold today and a spot to the Summer X Games with his no-handed flip tricks and variations. Olsson, known more as a traditional skater, had high aerials and solid pumps to take home the silver.

Athlete Pro Demo Jamie Bestwick, the world's top ranked bicycle stunt rider today, has visited Barcelona to put on a show for its fans. He will not compete, but will be here all weekend to perform on the vert for Barcelona. Bucky Lasek, skateboarding icon and X Games Champion, will also be at the European Qualifier to perform with Bestwick all weekend. Other pros who will be showcasing their talent are: Jay Miron, Canada; Dave Osato, Canada; Taig Khris, France; Max Dufour, Canada; Bruce Crisman, United States.

The debut of the X Games Qualifier in Europe is a chief component of ESPN's plan for major year-round global expansion of its X Games franchise. Over the next 12 months, more than a dozen X Games-related events will be staged on five different continents, including X Games Qualifiers, Junior X Games, the Asian X Tour, the X Games and Winter X Games. In 2002, ESPN will debut the X Games Global Challenge, a new event featuring regional teams of elite action sports athletes with both group and individual performances recognized with prize money and medals.

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