Better known for his success in Bike Stunt Dirt competitions, North Carolina's Ryan Nyquist surprised everyone by taking the gold with a 93.40 in the X Games Bike Stunt Park competition this afternoon at the First Union Complex. After a tie-breaking procedure, England's Whitton claimed second over Chad Kagy, from Spring Mills, Pa., after each turning in identical 91.80 performances in their last runs. Nyquist sewed up the competition in his second run when he put together a Double Truckdriver, 360 Bar Spin Backflip over the Spine, One-handed X-Up Backflip over the Sharkfin and finally a 720 over the Spine. "This was a big course and it worked to my advantage," said Nyquist, who won silver earlier in the week in the Bike Stunt Dirt competition. "Gold at this competition in this event? I'm super stoked. I'm more of a dirt rider, so for me to win a competition where my confidence isn't as high as normal was huge."

The relative newcomer Whitton, who won the preliminary round by more than two points, ended his second run with a fall, but wasn't too worried because "I accomplished a lot in my first run, but after I saw the second round scores, I needed a strong second run." He solidified his second place finish with a run that included a Tailwhip over the Transfer, Handplant over the Subrail and Backflip Turndown over the Transfer. "There are so many good riders in this competition, there could have been 70 guys in the field," Kagy said. "We have the best 20 competitors in the world in this event." 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 August 17 - 22, 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.