Gwinnett County, GA (May 17, 2002) – A breezy start to the weekend-long EXPN Invitational at Discover Mills X Games Skatepark in Gwinnett County, GA brought excitement to the 2,800 faces whom showed to watch the practice and preliminary rounds of competition. 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 200 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.

Known in action sports circles as one of the premiere competitions in the industry, as well as a place for up-and-comers to make their mark, the EXPN Invitational second stop began with preliminary round action in the Skateboard Park and Bicycle Stunt Flatland events. Due to high winds, the Bicycle Stunt Vert preliminary will be held tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. The 26 riders did get a small practice session in before the postponement, giving the crowds a sneak preview of what is in store for Saturday’s contest.

In the Skateboarding Park competition this evening, fans of both world-famous athletes and hometown heroes converged at the park to watch 30 pro skaters take to the new X Games Skatepark. After a gold medal performance that earned him an X Games VIII invitation last month at the first stop of the EXPN Invitational, Carlos De Andrade skated today with the same vigor that he did in Texas to qualify for the finals in second place. The strength of the Brazilian skateboard professionals showed today, as Carlos was one of four Brazilians that qualified for the ten-man final. After an exciting practice session this morning, skaters that do not typically compete in the Park competition decided to skate the preliminary round due to the one of a kind course.

Bicycle Stunt Flatland brought six countries and 31 riders onto the flatland course today trying to get that one spot to X Games VIII. Countries represented were: US, Spain, Germany, Canada, Brazil and Japan. Vancouver’s Nathan Penonzek will go into tomorrow’s final in the number one spot. Penonzek is no stranger to the X Games podium with a bronze and gold in his pocket. Behind Penonzek by less than 3 points is Jorge Gomez of Madrid, Spain. Last year, Gomez made his X Games debut at the European X Games qualifier in Barcelona. Marco Jesus of Sao Paulo, Brazil will go into the finals tomorrow in seventh place. Jesus is making his American contest debut as he just won a spot to X Games two months ago in Rio de Janeiro at the Latin X Games Qualifier.

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.

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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 - Friday, May 17, 2002 (Day One)
EXPN Invitational, Discover Mills X Games Skatepark
Gwinnett County, GA

BICYCLE STUNT FLATLAND PRELIMINARY
1. Nathan Penonzek, Vancouver, Canada 92.00
2. Jorge Gomez, Madrid, Spain 89.80
3. Michael Steingraber, Hamburg, Germany 87.80
4. Trevor Meyer, Chaska, MN 87.80
5. Chad Degroot, Green Bay, WI 86.20
6. York Uno, Ishikawa, Japan 84.60
7. Marco Jesus, Sao Paulo, Brazil 84.60
8. Aaron Behnke, Orlando, FL 83.80
9. Stephen Cerra, Los Angeles, CA 82.60
10. Kotaro Tanaka, Tokyo, Japan 82.60

AGGRESSIVE IN-LINE VERT PRELIMINARY (No preliminary round. Today, 15 athletes registered and all 15 will automatically advance to the final round tomorrow.) SKATEBOARDING PARK PRELIMINARY
1. Rodil Junior, Curitiba, Brazil 92.00
2. Carlos de Andrade, Curitiba, Brazil 89.50
3. Pat Channita, Garden Grove, CA 86.75
4. Dan Pageau, Montreal, Canada 86.50
5. Wolnei dos Santos, Bauru, Brazil 84.75
6. Adam McNatt, Long Beach, CA 83.25
7. Jud Heald, Skowhegan, ME 83.00
8. Dayne Brummet, San Diego, CA 82.75
9. Mike Santarossa, Cerritos, CA 81.50
10. Wagner Ramos, Curtitiba, Brazil 81.25
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