Event Spotlight: Mirra Dominates Bike Stunt Vert Competition 'Miracle Boy' Captures 13th Career X Medal As Games Draw To A Close Wednesday, August 22, 2001 By Maria Elles XGames Correspondent PHILADELPHIA * Dave Mirra saved his best for last. In the final event of the 2001 ESPN X Games, the Greenville, N.C. resident completed a dazzling final run of 95.00 to secure the gold medal in the Bicycle Stunt Vert competition. It is the 27-year-old's 13th career X medal and his 10th career X Games gold medal * a record. The true icon of the sport bested a world-class field, including fantastic runs from legendary riders Mat Hoffman and Jay Miron. Mirra's final run incorporated both technical tricks and some huge air as the crowd exploded when he nailed a huge Tailwhip after an even bigger Flair. "We all had a little trouble in our first run," Mirra said. "How I rode in my second run was how I wanted to ride in my first run. Miron's second run included a double tailwhip and prodded him toward a silver-medal finish, while Hoffman stuck a 900 to the delight of the crowd and the judges. Hoffman's second run score of 91.60 helped earn him a bronze medal. Miron now owns nine overall medals and a record six silvers. Hoffman has five medals in his X Games career. In a twist of irony, Hoffman's 900 helped motivate Miron toward edging him out for the silver medal. "Condor, it was awesome seeing you do a 900," Miron said of Hoffman's run. "Part of the reason why I rode so well was because of how you rode." Mirra's gold medal at least somewhat avenged last year's silver medal-winning performance when Jamie Bestwick claimed the gold. Bestwick did not compete in this year's competition due to injury. Wednesday's attendance at the First Union Complex was 14,400, making the 2001 X Games total attendance 234,590. "This crowd rules here in Philadelphia," Mirra said. Hometown hero Kerry Getz was awarded the ESPN Action Sports & Music Awards Athlete of the Games for winning three medals during the course of the event. Photo by Bakke/Shazamm/ESPN BICYCLE STUNT * VERT Final Results First Union Complex, Philadelphia * August 22, 2001 Place Name Hometown Run 1 Run 2 Score 1 Dave Mirra Greenville, N.C. 93.00 95.40 94.20 2 Jay Miron Coquitlam, B.C., Canada 91.40 94.00 92.70 3 Mat Hoffman Oklahoma City, Okla. 91.80 91.60 91.70 4 Kevin Robinson E. Providence, R.I. 90.00 91.60 90.80 5 Simon Tabron Bristol, Great Britain 90.80 89.60 90.20 6 Dennis McCoy Kansas City, Mo. 90.60 89.60 90.10 7 Jason Davies Tempe, Ariz. 89.40 89.00 89.20 8 Jay Eggleston Denver, Colo. 86.60 85.40 86.00 9 Koji Kraft Addison, Ill. 85.60 85.80 85.70 MEDAL COUNT Final Results Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 United States 16 17 20 53 2 Ukraine 2 2 1 5 3 Brazil 3 0 1 4 4 Canada 1 1 1 3 5 Great Britain 0 2 0 2 5 Japan 0 2 0 2 7 Australia 0 0 2 2 8 Finland 1 0 0 1 8 France 1 0 0 1 8 Slovakia 1 0 0 1 11 Germany 0 0 1 1 Rank State Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 California 7 6 11 24 2 Florida 2 2 4 8 3 Maryland 2 1 0 3 4 Pennsylvania 1 2 0 3 5 North Carolina 1 1 0 2 6 Oklahoma 1 0 1 2 7 Nevada 0 1 1 2 8 Texas 0 2 0 2 9 Oregon 1 0 0 1 9 Utah 1 0 0 1 11 Colorado 0 1 0 1 11 Maryland 0 1 0 1 13 Idaho 0 0 1 1 13 Illinois 0 0 1 1 13 Wisconsin 0 0 1 1 Contact: Maria Elles, 610-291-2048 Visit www.espneventmedia.com for more information and hi-res downloadable photos.

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