KIA X Games Asia 2009

Skateboard Vert Preliminary Round


Reigning KIA X Games Asia Skateboard Vert champion, Andy Macdonald, gave a taste of what to expect in the finals tomorrow as he secured top spot in qualification.

Macdonald sailed through with both his runs going past the 90 point mark.

His first run garnered a 90.67 while his second was even better at 91.67.

Another American skater, Adam Taylor, took second spot with a 89.67 to turn the heat up on the field.

Brazilian Marcelo Bastos, got himself third spot with his first run on 84.67.

Skateboard Vert Preliminary Round

1. Andy Macdonald USA - 91.67
2. Adam Taylor USA - 89.67
3. Marcelo Bastos BRA - 84.67
4. Renton Millar AUS - 82.00
5. Juergen Horrwarth GER - 80.67
6. Neal Hendrix USA - 79.00
7. Nathan Beck AUS - 78.33
8. Jussi Korhonen FIN - 78.00
9. Moto Shibata JPN - 76.67
10. Seiya Sano JPN - 72.67
11. Karen Jonz BRA - 72.00
12. Gen Ogawa JPN - 71.67
13. Arina Fikri bin Rahman MAS - 67.67
14. Bobby Male ENG - 66.33


The day's competition finished off with breathtaking stunts from some of the world's top athletes on the street course in the Skate Street final. American Austen Seaholm took home the gold after a flawless first run that set the pace for the entire field. Scoring a solid 88.00 in his first run, Seaholm put the pressure on Brazil's Fabrizio Santos and Carlos de Andrade who each also scored well on their first run.

While Santos and deAndrade had next to perfect second runs, they still could not top the first run score of Seaholm. Santos just edged out deAndrade after landing a more technical trick over the gap, a Caballerial 360. Santos won the silver with a best run score of 83.67 and de Andrade earned the bronze with a score of 82.67.

"I never try to plan out my full run and I knew it was going to be good after I landed my first four tricks clean," said Seaholm. "This is my first time in Shanghai and I could not be more excited to win an X Games gold medal here."

During today's opening ceremony, Adam Zecha, Executive Vice President, Head of Sales (South-East Asia) ESPN Star Sports: "Shanghai gave us a very warm reception for the last two years and we would like to thank our sponsors and partners for the support and patronage extended to the third successful edition of this event. The KIA X Games Asia is the most prestigious and biggest action sport event in the region, and we are proud to bring it back once again for the third straight year to one of the world's leading sporting nation with a very strong young and passionate audience that truly reflects the spirit of X Games."

The KIA X Games Asia 2009 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 Freestyle Moto X demonstrations by some of the world's best riders.