Philadelphia, Penn. - Indianapolis native Tori Allen not only took gold in this afternoon's Speed Climb competition at the First Union Complex, the 14-year-old blew out the record set by Elena Repko at last year's X Games by nearly four seconds. Allen's best time of 13.417 seconds came in the championship, when she outdistanced silver medallist Olga Zakharova. The 2000 gold medallist, Etti Hendrawati, finished third, winning the consolation heat in 14.279 seconds over Repko. Allen put things in focus for the competition at Friday's practice when she looked at the 60-foot wall and said, "That's not as tall as I thought it was." "I never give up," said Allen, who was competing in her first X Games. "I've been in a lot of competitions and never give up." The 29-year-old Ukranian Zakharova extended her X Games medal streak to three years, including the silver the last two.

Tori Allen pulls away from Olga Zakharova.

Third place finisher Hendrawati, from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, finished fourth last year, but felt great to get back to the medal stage. "I love this sport because it's so full of surprises," Hendrawati said. "Last year, I got fourth, so I'm really happy to get a medal this year." The X Games showcases 300 of the world's best action sports athletes competing in a variety of sports events for medals and more than $1 million in total prize money. In its first year as X Games host, Philadelphia drew 235,000 spectators during X Games VII, August 17-22, 2001.

Golden climbers, Tori Allen and Maxim Stenkovoy.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports will combine to televise more than 20 original hours of X Games VIII coverage starting August 17, while ESPN International will distribute the Games worldwide. In addition, EXPN.com, the year-round home for action sports and culture, will offer extensive event coverage, including streaming video from the X Games.