After finishing second two years ago and sitting out last year's X Games with a broken right wrist, Montreal's Pierre-Luc Gagnon finally struck gold in the Skateboard Vert finals tonight at the First Union Complex. Gagnon ran away with the competition, recording a 96.75 on his second run to outdistance last year's champion Brazilian Bob Burnquist, who turned in a 90.00 in his final session for second place, and Danish-born Rune Glifberg, who was third with a 89.50 in his second run.

Calling it his "dream run," Gagnon, otherwise known as "PLG," strung together a variety of Mute Grabs, Indy Grabs and Nollie Heelflips to capture the gold. "I was super-psyched about my run," said the 22-year-old, who has medalled in 90 percent of the competitions in which he has competed in 2002. "My goal is to skate as well as I can, no matter where I am competing." The 25-year-old Burnquist, who has competed in all eight X Games, tanked in his first two runs, scoring a 72.25 and 71.75. But before his third, he was practicing a Ho-Ho, a trick he hadn't landed in some time. "That really pumped me up for the final run," said Burnquist, who went on to record a 90.00 with the combination of a Cab Heelflip, McTwist and Indy Kickflip.

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.

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.