Gwinnett County, GA (May 18, 2002) - After a rainy start to the second day of competition, ramps and bleachers were dried, the sun cam out and the venue was set for more than 7500 action sport enthusiasts who came out to Discover Mills to show their support. The EXPN Invitational, formerly known as B3 - Bikes, Boards and Blades, is a two-stop competition organized and televised by ESPN. The event features more than 250 athletes from around the world competing in Aggressive In-Line Skating, Bicycle Stunt and Skateboarding. In addition to competing for medals and more than $200,000 in prize money, athletes are vying for an open invitation to X Games VIII, the world’s premier action sports competition, to be held August 15-19 in Philadelphia, Pa.

After this weekend’s ESPN competition, athletes will have fewer opportunities to qualify for the big show as X Games VIII nears. Today, more than fifty athletes, under pressure to win an invite to Philadelphia, performed their best in Skateboard Park, Bicycle Stunt Flatland, Aggressive In-line Vert and Park. Once again, due to inclement weather, the Bicycle Stunt Vert Final will be held tomorrow. With 26 riders due to ride in the preliminary round at 9:30 a.m., ten finalists will then ride in the Final at 11 a.m.

In the Skateboarding Park competition this afternoon, fans converged at the park creating the largest crowd ever gathered inside the X Games Skatepark. The ten skaters in today’s final used the crowd’s energy to turn in outstanding performances. Carlos De Andrade, the second place qualifier from yesterday’s competition, put a top-notch run together but fell towards the end and could not overcome fellow Brazilian Rodil Junior for the gold medal. Rodil Junior, the reigning X Games Gold Medalist, used his ability to perform tricks switch footed earning the Gold Medal score of 93.50. Both Rodil and Carlos have received invitations to this summer’s X Games VIII giving third place finisher Dan Pageau a spot in this summer’s main event. “I was in the X Games in 2000 but did not make it last year and am really psyched to be going back after my runs today.”

Bicycle Stunt Flatland welcomed last month’s gold medal winner, Michael Steingraber of Hamburg, Germany to the podium once again. At the first stop of the EXPN Invitational in Texas, Steingraber grabbed himself a gold medal and a trip to X Games VIII. Today in Georgia, Steingraber settled for the cash and relished in the moment. “Although I already had a spot for X Games VIII, I was still very nervous,” said Steingraber of his win. “Today represented the best field of Flatland riders, and any one of the finalists could have won.” Jorge Gomez of Madrid Spain took the silver medal and the spot to X Games VIII. Last year at the European X Games Qualifier in Barcelona, Gomez won his invite at that contest. Today he wins for the first time in the United States.

A large crowd had gathered in the bleachers by the end of the day for the Aggressive In-line Vert final. The crowd was entertained with the sibling rivalry of the Yasutoko brothers and the high-flying skills of the only female skater in the final, Fabiola da Silva. Fabiola had a great second run with technical lip tricks and spinning airs but fell at the end of her run leaving her in tenth place. The gold medal came down to the final run after Takeshi Yasutoko took the lead with only one skater left. Older brother Eito could not keep pace with the younger Takeshi but skated well enough to earn himself a second place finish. Landsdale, Pennsylvania resident Marc Englehart finished in 5th place and earned an X Games VIII berth.

The EXPN Invitational is free and open to the public. Doors open to the public at 10 am Saturday and Sunday. In addition to world-class competition, spectators can also enjoy the interactive village, which includes a climbing wall, body airbrushing, athlete autograph signings and more.

The events will be televised on ESPN and ESPN2 beginning in July.

ESPN, the worldwide leader in action sports, first developed its X Games franchise in 1995. The X Games, Winter X Games, EXPN 2Day, Tony Hawk’s Gigantic Skatepark Tour and EXPN Invitational events are just some of the original action sports programming currently shown on ESPN and ESPN2.

Event schedules, results, on-going coverage, telecast schedule, photos and video of the EXPN Invitational can be found on www.expn.com.

###

ATTN MEDIA: Photos from the entire weekend of competition (including today’s preliminaries) can be downloaded for editorial use on www.espneventmedia.com. Results are also available on the site.

Contact: Katie Moses, ESPN, 267-971-8250 or katie.moses@espn.com.

RESULTS - Saturday, May 18, 2002 (Day Two)

BICYCLE STUNT FLATLAND FINAL
1. Michael Steingraber, Hamburg, Germany 94.40
2. Trevor Meyer, Chaska, MN 93.60
3. Jorge Gomez, Madrid, Spain 92.60
4. Aaron Behnke, Orlando, FL 89.00
5. Chad Degroot, Green Bay, WI 87.80
6. Stephen Cerra, Los Angeles, CA 87.00
7. Nathan Penonzek, Vancouver, Canada 86.00
8. York Uno, Ishikawa, Japan 85.80
9. Marco Jesus, Sao Paulo, Brazil 85.40
10. Kotaro Tanaka, Tokyo, Japan 84.40

AGGRESSIVE IN-LINE VERT FINAL
1. Takeshi Yasutoko, Kobe, Japan 89.25
2. Eito Yasutoko, Kobe, Japan 88.00
3. Taig Khris, Paris & Greece 86.00
4. Shane Yost, Lauceston, Tazmania 77.50
5. Marc Englehart, Landale, PA 76.50
6. Sven Boekhorst, Den Bosch, Holland 73.00
7. Mike Budnik, Irvine, CA 68.75
8. Cesar Mora, Sydney, Australia 63.75
9. Sam Fogarty, Melbourne, Australia 63.50
10. Fabiola da Silva, Sao Paulo, Brazil 63.25

SKATEBOARDING PARK FINAL
1. Rodil Junior, Curitiba, Brazil 93.50
2. Carlos de Andrade, Curitiba, Brazil 89.25
3. Dan Pageau, Montreal, Canada 86.50
4. Wagner Ramos, Curtitiba, Brazil 84.75
5. Dayne Brummet, San Diego, CA 83.25
6. Jud Heald, Skowhegan, ME 82.25
7. Mike Santarossa, Cerritos, CA 80.00
8. Pat Channita, Garden Grove, CA 76.50
9. Wolnei dos Santos, Bauru, Brazil 75.50
10. Adam McNatt, Long Beach, CA 73.50

AGGRESSIVE IN-LINE PARK FINAL (WOMEN)
1. Fabiola da Silva, Sao Paulo, Brazil 60.25
2. Fallon Hefferman, Jacksonville, FL 47.75
3. Angela Araujo, Curitiba, Brazil 43.50
4. Jenna Downing, Yorkshire, England 41.75
5. Jenny Logue, Guildford, England 41.25
6. Deborah West, Plano, TX 29.75

AGGRESSIVE IN-LINE PARK PRELIMINARY (MEN)
1. Sven Boekhorst, Den Bosch, Holland 80.00
2. Jaren Grob, Orem, UT 79.63
3. Ryan Dawes, Plano, TX 78.63
4. Sam Fogarty, Melbourne, Australia 78.00
5. Carl Hills, Salt Lake City, UT 76.75
6. Carlos Pianowski, Curitiba, Brazil 75.50
7. Louie Zamora, San Diego, CA 75.13
8. Ian Brown, Woonona, Australia 73.38
9. Franky Morales, Miami Beach, FL 73.00
10. Dominic Sagona, Escondido, CA 72.88

   Send to a friend  | Submit your photo or video
   Top Rated Photos |  Top Rated Videos |  Most Sent