Asian X Games Qualifier: Thailand Recap
2000 ASIAN X GAMES QUALIFIER PRESENTED BY TOYOTA
PHUKET, SATURDAY 9 DECEMBER 2000 -
Day Three kicked in and the pressure was on as the wakeboarding, bouldering and aggressive in-line park finals were decided at the Asian X Games Qualifier, presented by TOYOTA. Each finals winner shares in $80,000 US prize money and, more importantly, a trip to the 2001 summer X Games in August to be held in Philadelphia, USA.
WAKEBOARDING
Following yesterday's disastrous wipeout of 1999 winner Daniel Watkins of Australia, fellow teammate Wayne Maher won the qualifier ahead of Greg Falzon. This is the third year running that the wakeboard event has been won by an Australian. Sport organiser Kurt Robertson says Wayne had an almost perfect run and that his high level of difficulty won him the qualifier.
SPORT CLIMBING
A cool head and a determined heart proved a winning combination for Go Mi Sun of Korea, who won the women's bouldering this afternoon. Athletes were pushed to their limits. It was a wipeout on the tsunami wall, with none of the female climbers able to reach the top. Sports organiser, Jim Waugh, says the courses for the finals for both men and women were designed to "definitively show who was the best climber ... and I believe the spectators walked away from both events with a very clear idea of who were the best male and female climbers today."
In the men's competition, top seeded Lee Jea Yong of Korea overcame a pulled tendon (that he sustained earlier in the day) to win first place and claim the cash. In a thrilling end to the competition, Lee scaled the first wall like on his first attempt. He was the only athlete to make it to the top. Next door on the tsunami wall, teammate Son Sang Won showed off his strength - using just one arm to pull himself up three holds in a row.
Bouldering is not on the event schedule for the Summer X Games, so winners receive medals and prizes only.
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| Sang Won Son of Korea in action on the bouldering wall. |
AGGRESSIVE IN-LINE SKATING
The stands were packed for the final of the in-line skating Park Final. Japan's Ken Kitada went absolutely huge in both runs, doing a perfect all-oop fishbrain all the way down the rail to win a spot at the Summer X Games. Australia's C.J Wellsmore, the youngest finalist, set the pace early with a classic 540°, but it was fellow Aussie Sam Fogarty who took the crowd's breath away with an amazing transfer, which saw him fly through the air. Sam placed second with last year's winner, Chiaki Ito of Japan, taking the third spot.
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| Soichiro Kanashima of Japan takes a spin during the park finals. |
Tomorrow's final day of competition will decide the winners of the Skateboard Park, In-line Vert and Vert Doubles, Bicycle Stunt Park and Flatland and Sport Climbing Speed Finals.
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