Finland's
Martti Kuoppa admitted he lost a little faith after his first run. Kuoppa just shook his head and smiled after posting an 89.00, the result of a few minor slip ups. But Kuoppa wouldn't stay down for long.
The 23-year-old Kuoppa won his third X Games gold medal in Bike Stunt Flatland on a sweltering Sunday afternoon at the First Union Center Complex. With one hand in the air like a bull rider, his face looking down at his front pegs, Kuoppa rolled his way to a 95.00 to knock Germany's
Michael Steingraeber out of first place. An excited Kuoppa thrust his first into the air and did a drop kick for the crowd.
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| Kuoppa showing the style that earned him his gold. |
Steingraeber, the top qualifier and last rider to go, knew he wasn't going to beat Kuoppa's score. "I knew I had the silver medal before my second run," Steingraeber said. "And, of course, I tried to up it a bit, and it didn't work out so I knew I might as well relax and do something easy." Something easy, eh? Steingraeber did his "crowd pleaser," standing atop his handlebars, arms pointed skyward. The judges gave him an 84.00.
"The crowd love it, obviously," Steingraeber added. "And they might have thought it was super difficult –
it's not easy –
but it's old school. So I just did it for the crowd."
Great Britain's
Phil Dolan, last year's silver medalist, won the bronze with a first-run score of 93.00. Dolan also won a bronze in 2000.
"I had a perfect run and I pretty much hit everything I wanted to hit," Dolan said.
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| Jumelin took a peg to the head after a collision with Dolan. Here he is showing that flatlanders bleed too. |
Alex Jumelin looked like he had been in a car wreck before the competition. Apparently the 24-year-old native of Paris, France, was involved in a collision with Dolan minutes before the 12:30 start. Jumelin took a peg to the forehead, which required several bandages. He also suffered a cut on the bridge of his nose.
Still dazed,
Jumelin managed to complete both runs. After posting an 85.80 in his first attempt, Jumelin sat slumped in a chair under a tent with a bag of ice on his face. His second run wasn't any better (84.60), and he finished in seventh place.
Related Photos:
BMX Flatland Gallery
