Coleman, Canina, Ellis | cr. Jared Souney

Brazilian Diogo Canina took home the top spot Thursday night as the Big-Air BMX Triples contest came to a close at the Orace County Fairground.  Canina defeated Austin Coleman and TJ Ellis in the three-man final after besting Josh Stead and Koji Kraft in earlier matches.

Check out the full release below to find out how the action went down.

Brazil’s Diogo Canina wins the Big-Air BMX Triples Event!
California’s own Austin Coleman and T.J. Ellis Capture Second and Third Place

LOS ANGELES (July 31, 2008) – The highest-flying action in Orange County this week concluded tonight when ASA Entertainment presented the finals of the Big-Air BMX Triples from the Orange County Fair’s Action Sports Arena.  Before an audience that overflowedthe grandstand onto the infield and bleachers, Brazil’s Diogo Canina performed a virtually flawless run of backflip tailwhips, tailwhips, and a 720 to win the event championship and qualify for the LG Action Sports World Championships.  Just two nights ago, Canina stood in the same podium position after winning round one and said he wouldhave to ride even harder in the finals because he would be facing some of the best BMX riders in the business.  The battle fought tonight involved some of the toughest skirmishes the sport has to offer.

The head-to-head format for the Big Air BMX Triples saw every man performing tricks from an expansive repertoire in order to prevail and advance to the next round.  For some, even injury didn’t stop them from throwing their toughest stunts.  With a dislocated finger, ligament damage in his wrist, and a sprained ankle, Koji Kraft (Addison, Ill.) fought through the pain in the quarterfinals and defeated Ricky Moseley, round one’s third place winner, to advance to the semi-finals where he met the eventual event winner, Canina; an injured Kraft was no match for the consistent Brazilian.

In other quarterfinal action, T.J. Ellis (Moreno Valley, CA) and Pat Casey, the 14 year-old phenom from Placentia, Calif., provided the judges with one of the toughest decisions of the evening.  Casey electrified the crowd with a triple tailwhip during his first run, but was quickly challenged by Ellis with his front-flip, 360 double tailwhip combination.  The eventual decision was unanimous, and Ellis advanced to the semi-finals to face Rob Darden (Greenville, NC), Wednesday night’s preliminary round two winner. Round two’s results, which saw Ellis accept third place to Darden’s win, were long forgotten as Ellis successfully connected with his stunts tonight to earn a spot in the final heat.

For Austin Coleman (Los Angeles, Calif.) tonight progressed the same as it did last night; Coleman faced impressive talent that required him to push hard all the way to the end.  He pumped up the crowd before each run and fed off their energy to perform no-handed front flips and no-handed flairs to the fans’ delight.  He entered the final round confident and ready to take on the best men the event had to offer, and Canina and Ellis stepped up to answer his challenge.

The final heat ended with each man standing on the podium in the same positions in which they stood after their preliminary rounds; Diogo Canina in first place, Austin Coleman in second place and T.J. Ellis in third place.  The Big Air BMX Triples compared each man’s best of two runs and rewarded technical consistency and flawless execution over flash and flair.

The Big Air BMX Triples is an ASA Entertainment production whose excitement will be brought to fans via CBS Sports later this year.  Please stay tuned to your local listings and www.bmxtriples.com for more information.

Final Results

Final Podium:
Winner: Diogo Canina
Second: Austin Coleman
Third: TJ Ellis

Below are the full results from the Final Round of competition at the BMX Big Air Triples event in Costa Mesa, CA.

Quarter-Final:
Chris Hughes vs. Sean Logan
Winner: Sean Logan

Tony Campos vs. Austin Coleman
Winner: Austin Coleman

Pat Casey vs. TJ Ellis
Winner: TJ Ellis

Michael Clark vs. Rob Darden
Winner: Rob Darden

Koji Kraft vs. Ricky Moseley
Winner: Koji Kraft

Josh Stead vs. Diogo Canina
Winner: Diogo Canina

Semi-Final:
Sean Logan vs. Austin Coleman
Winner: Austin Coleman

TJ Ellis vs. Rob Darden
Winner: TJ Ellis

Koji Kraft vs. Diogo Canina
Winner: Diogo Canina

Final:
Austin Coleman vs. TJ Ellis vs. Diogo Canina
Winner: Diogo Canina, Second: Austin Coleman, Third: TJ Ellis

The Big-Air BMX Triples contest began Tuesday night in Orange County, where 12 riders fought for six spots to take part in Thursday’s final.

Brazil’s Diogo Canina had the best run of the night, securing his place in the finals.  Joining him were Sean Logan and Ricky Moseley, who placed second and third, along with Tony Campos, 14 year-old Pat Casey and Allistair Whitton. Wednesday 12 more athletes will battle to fill the final six spots for the final.

The course is Big-Air Triples course is 165-feet long and features three deep valleys that allow riders to grab big air while throwing three tricks in a row.

Read on for the press release about the day’s action.

Diogo Canina Wins Round One of the Big Air BMX Triples presented by ASA Entertainment
The Top Six Men Qualify for Thursday’s Finals including Placentia, CA’s 14 year-old Pat Casey
LOS ANGELES (July 29, 2008) – The Big-Air BMX Triples kicked off tonight from the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, California with an extraordinary display of bike-riding talent and skill from an international roster of the world’s top BMX athletes. Sao Paulo, Brazil’s Diogo Canina flew higher than his fellow competitors to land six technically clean and awe-inspiring runs over the 165 ft. course before a packed bandstand to capture the round one win and qualify for Thursday’s final round.

“Winning in the preliminaries means a lot to me,” said Canina. “But I still have to ride hard on Thursday. These guys are good. They could pull it all together and hit all their tricks in the Finals. On Thursday, things could be a lot different.”

Tonight’s top three finishers included Sean Logan of San Clemente, Calif. and Ricky Moseley of Mason, Tenn., placing in second and third respectively.

The head-to-head format pitted competitors against each other for two runs with judges determining which rider had not only the most technical run, but also the most consistently spectacular performance. After the first heat, six men earned qualification to the Finals. These men are: Tony Campos (San
Francisco, Calif.), 14 year-old Pat Casey (Placentia, Calif.), Allistair Whitton (Chester, England), Ricky Moseley, Sean Logan and Diogo Canina.

The Big-Air BMX Triples continues on Wednesday evening, July 30th with 12 new competitors, each vying for one of the top six spots and a place in Thursday’s final round. Wednesday’s competitors include: Australia’s Dave Dillewaard, Canada’s Chris Hughes, Los Angeles’ Austin Coleman, and Santa Ana, Calif.’s Ben Snowden. These men will continue the battle for their share of the $20,000 event prize purse and two slots in the prestigious LG Action Sports World Championships.

The Big-Air BMX Triples is an ASA Entertainment Production that will air on CBS Sports and various cable networks this year.

For more information on the Big-Air BMX Triples presented by ASA Entertainment visit www.bmxtriples.com.