Brazilians got gold and silver on the X Games Vert Skate

On Thursday night at The STAPLES Center, Sandro Dias' first run was good enough for gold. It was also the Brazilian's first skateboard vert gold medal at the X Games. Bob Burnquist nabbed silver and Bucky Lasek took home the bronze. Andy Macdonald missed the podium, just 0.25 points behind Lasek.

Dias best finish in skate vert was a bronze at X Games 11, but he holds several vert titles from the Latin X Games and Asian X Games.

"I thought my score was too high," quipped Dias, when asked if he was surprised his first run was enough for the victory. "But I love the judges."

That winning run included a backside 540 McTwist to tail, a gnar jar 540, heelflip to frontside slider and ollie to fakie.

Burnquist, another Brazilian, and Lasek both had strong runs with opportunities to take the gold, but in the end came up short. Burnquist fell on his final two runs on a switch kickflip after a frontside air to backside air.

"I feel very good about that run, because I connected every obstacle and it flowed all the way through," said Burnquist. "The switch kickflip that I couldn't land  I'll definitely lose sleep over that because I usually can land it. I think that if I had landed that, I might have got the gold."

Lasek put together a run that included a frontside air 540, ollie flip fakie and stalefish.

"My body felt good for as battered as it was," Lasek said. "I was feeling it on my third run but I was seeing about eight walls ahead of myself and fell on something easy."

posted by nscafuro @ 11:18 AM