White Lands Incredible Run to Reclaim Gold
Shaun White Goes All Out For Gold
It was a modern-day gentlemen’s duel between Shaun White and Pierre-Luc Gagnon, but White would not be denied the victory as he laid it all on the line in a final run to take the gold in the Skateboard Vert Final Saturday night.
“I just wanted to put this down for all the fans that came out. I’ve been working so hard to get this going this season. After that seven I landed I had so much energy that I said “I’m making this happen,” White said. “This is the second time I’ve ever won summer X Games, so I’m beside myself.”
White and Gagnon went run for run, upping the ante each tine, but as they headed into the last set with Gagnon in the lead White put down a 720, to body barrel five, to heelside body barrel five combo that the judges couldn’t reward with anything but the win. It was only White’s second gold in the event, his first since he won in 2007.
For Gagnon, who takes the silver home in 2011, the medal marked the 17th X Games medal of his career.
“I was very happy with my fourth run. Shaun had bailed two times in a row so I was pretty confident, but Shaun’s last run was so awesome I had to give it to him,” Gagnon said.
Bucky Lasek of Baltimore, Md. marked his 14th X Games medal, taking bronze in the competition.
“It’s great to still be here and skating so well. In any other event I probably would have been first but these new guys are really out here pushing it and they help me keep on my game,” Lasek said.
Skateboard Vert features a 60 feet wide halfpipe, in which riders have a 12-minute jam session to put together their best run score.
For X Games media information, including press releases, logos and additional images from past events, log on to www.espneventmedia.com. To view medalist runs, visit the Winter X Games You Tube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/xgames and follow the X Games on Twitter at Twitter.com/xgames
X Games 17
In its ninth year in Los Angeles, X Games 17 will feature more than 200 athletes at competition venues and event spaces including STAPLES Center and Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE. The 17th annual action sports competition to be held in Los Angeles July 28 – 31 and will debut the new discipline of Enduro X, as well as the first-ever rally street circuit running through the downtown area. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will combine to telecast 25 hours of live X Games 17 competition. In addition to the 25 original hours in high definition, the Worldwide Leader in Action Sports will also televise 21 hours of X Games action on ESPN 3D. More than 29 hours will also be distributed on ESPN3.com.
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