PLG Earns Back X Games Vert Gold in Tie Breaker
Gagnon Goes Up Against Lasek For The Win
It was an evening of redemption in the halfpipe for Pierre-Luc Gagnon who, after finishing second in a neck-and-neck vert throwdown in 2011, earned his sixth X Games Skateboard Vert gold medal.
“This was my first main event of the year and it was good to break the ice with the biggest event,” Gagnon said. “It was a great battle. I wish I would have stomped that last trick but it went really well and this is a
lot of weight off my back.”
Gagnon threw out tricks like a kickflip body varial 540 into a body varial 5, a 720, a fakie switch heel 360 and a grapefruit grind to earn the win over Baltimore’s Bucky Lasek in a tie breaker that took the average of the five judges’ scores on the athletes’ best runs.
“I came and I put together the run that I wanted to put together and I had a really good time doing it,” Lasek said. “That’s what X Games is all about: Coming, giving it your all, bringing new tricks to the table and having fun.”
Lasek threw down a run with a frontside cab mute grab, kickflip stalefish 360, nollie 5 and an indie 3 to earn the silver medal, a step up from the bronze he took in 2011.
Rounding out the podium with the bronze was California’s Andy Macdonald who notched out a kickflip melon 540 and a 720 to earn the seventh X Games Vert medal of his career.
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 X Games You Tube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/xgames and follow the X Games on Twitter at Twitter.com/xgames
X GAMES LOS ANGELES 2012
X Games Los Angeles 2012 will return to Los Angeles, Calif., June 28 – July 1, 2012, with live coverage on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. This year will mark the 10th consecutive year the event will be held in Los Angeles and will feature more than 200 of the world’s best athletes in the sports of BMX Freestyle, Rally Car, Moto X and Skateboard. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will televise 21 hours of LIVE high-definition programming, while ESPN3 will provide three additional hours of content. ESPN 3D will televise all 21 hours of X Games over the four-day event.
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Contacts:
Danny Chi, ESPN, 310-642-1509, danny.c.chi@espn.com
Katie Moses-Swope, ESPN, 303-290-7888, katie.moses-swope@espn.com
Grace Coryell, ESPN, 310-642-1519, grace.s.coryell@espn.com