Andy Macdonald, Garrett Reynolds Score Wins at X Games Asia

Andy Macdonald- photo by Charlie Xia

Andy Macdonald shredded the Skate Vert competition Friday in Shanghai at X Games Asia, defending his ‘07 title at the event. Silver went to 16-year-old Josh Stafford, with Renton Millar taking bronze and Neal Hendrix one off the podium.

The BMX Park finals were a little closer, as Garrett Reynolds edged Spaniard Sergio Layos for the gold, 92.67 to 91.00. Aussie Chris O’Donnell took the bronze.

The Asia X Games wrap up on Saturday with Skate Park and demos for Moto X Best Trick and Step Up.

For more about the games check out the official site for the Asia X Games. Check out the press release at the end of this post for all the results from the other sports at the event.

Skate Vert Final Results

1. Andy Macdonald – 95.00 ($6,000)
2. Josh Stafford – 86.67 ($4,000)
3. Renton Millar – 84.67 ($2,000)
4. Neal Hendrix – 82.00 ($1,000)
5. Seiya Sano – 77.33 ($1,000)
6. Marcelo Bastos – 76.67 ($1,000)
7. Gen Ogawa – 76.67 ($600)
8. Nicky Guerrero – 76.00 ($600)
9. Jan Tomsovsky – 72.00 ($500)
10. Sergie Ventura – 71.00 ($500)

BMX Park Final Results

1. Garrett Reynolds – 92.67 ($6,000)
2. Sergio Layos – 91.00 ($4,000)
3. Chris O’Donnell – 89.67 ($2,000)
4. Kiattichai Wanitsakul – 89.33 ($1,000)
5. Vince Byron – 88.67 ($1,000)
6. Ben Snowden – 87.33 ($1,000)
7. Chokchai Wanitsakul – 87.00 ($600)
8. Koji Kraft – 85.33 ($600)
9. Greg Illingworth – 84.67 ($500)
10. Prachaya Iamsa-ard – 84.33 ($500)

Josh Stafford – photo by Charlie Xia

Andy Macdonald Wins his Second Straight Gold Medal Convincingly at KIA X Games Asia 2008

Indonesia Continues Its Domination of Speed Climbing on Day Two

Shanghai, China – High-flying action continued on day two of competition at KIA X Games Asia as more than 15,100 fans cheered on their favorite athletes at KIC Jiangwan Sports Center. The day was packed with thrilling contests by some of the world’s best athletes competing in Skateboard Vert, Speed Climbing and BMX Park.

“We’re thrilled to see the raised excitement as well as the growth in the understanding of action sports from the Chinese fans since we were last here a year ago,” said Rick Alessandri, Senior Vice President and X Games Franchise Managing Director. “The success of today’s events only helps reinforce our commitment to China as well as recognize the potential and possibilities for our X Games consumer products throughout the Asian region.”

Skateboard Vert

American skater Andy Macdonald showed Chinese fans why he has 16 X Games medals to his name as he dominated the field, scoring nearly 10 points better than the nearest competitor in the Skateboard Vert competition Friday afternoon. As the defending X Games Asia skateboard vert champion, Macdonald won back-to-back golds with his trademark consistency, skating cleanly in all three of his runs in a best of three format. Fellow San Diego, Calif. native Josh Stafford put in a solid performance as well, edging out Melbourne Australia’s Renton Millar for silver.

“It felt great to come back to Shanghai and win again as I noticed a difference this year in the level of education about the sport,” said Macdonald. “The crowd was really responsive, but this year they know the name of more tricks and they are cheering for all the right ones – they understand which tricks are harder, and they are cheering louder when a skater sticks it.”

When asked what he thought it would take for China to produce world-class skateboarders, Macdonald replied, “I think China has all the elements for producing great skaters. The first is access to good places to skate, and China is building more skateparks all the time. You have here in Yangpu District of Shanghai what is in my opinion the best skatepark in the world, the SMP Skatepark.”

Men’s Speed Climbing

The Indonesian men picked up where the women left off yesterday by winning the gold and bronze medals in the speed climbing competition. Although the Chinese climbers started off strong, one-by-one they began to make mistakes when it counted most as several of them slipped right at the finish. The closely contested final race was won by Indonesia’s Abu Dzar Yulianto as he just squeaked out the victory by the slimmest of margins past Kazakhstan’s Alexsandr Nigmatulin. Yulianto had never finished higher than sixth at the Asian X Games prior to his gold medal finish today. Fellow Indonesian teammate Galar Pandu Asmoro rounded out the podium with the bronze.

“I’m thrilled to win my first KIA X Games Asia gold medal after three tries,” said Yulianto. “The Chinese athletes were very strong and quick, but I think they were quite unlucky today. It was tense from the semi-finals onwards, but I think my efforts to stay focused and relaxed helped me.”

BMX Park

Day two of competition was concluded with the BMX Park finals in which the United States’ Garrett Reynolds won his first X Games Asia gold, beating out Spain’s Sergio Layos and Australia’s Chris O’Donnell. Reynolds, who overcame his luggage and bike being lost by the airlines for two days, had minimal time to practice, and as such, decided to take a more spontaneous approach to his runs.

“I planned a little bit of my run in advance, but when I got out there I just went with what I was feeling,” said Reynolds. “I didn’t think I got first place. Sergio, who I really admire, was riding really well, but I’ll take it,” he added.

Tomorrow KIA X Games Asia fans can anticipate an exciting final day of events, featuring competitions in Aggressive In-line Vert, Skateboard Park, demonstrations in Moto X Best Trick and Step Up and musical artist performances. Headlining once again in the Aggressive In-Line skate final will be the renowned Yasutoko brothers, who will again defend their gold and silver medals respectively.

About KIA X Games Asia

The KIA X Games Asia 2008 will showcase more than 200 of Asia’s and the world’s best action sport athletes from more than 20 countries and five continents as they compete in BMX freestyle, Aggressive In-line Skating, Skateboarding and Sport Climbing. In addition to the competitive events, Shanghai, China will also enjoy Moto X demonstrations by some of the world’s best riders in Best Trick and Step Up.

X Games Asia was first held in 1998 and is the most prestigious multi-event competition for action sports in Asia. Between 1998 and 2001 the event took place in Phuket, Thailand. From 2002-2004, the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur was home to the Asian X Games. In 2005, the event was hosted in Seoul, Korea before returning to Kuala Lumpur in 2006. Last year’s KIA X Games Asia marked the first time an X Games event was held in the People’s Republic of China.

Considered the pinnacle of global action sports competition, the KIA X Games Asia 2008 will be televised live from May 1 – 3, 2008 on ESPN Asia Networks from the KIC Jiangwan Sports Center, Yang Pu District. Visit the official websites www.Kiaxgamesasia.com and www.espnstar.com for more information.