Takashi Ito, a former series champion, wowed the big crowd with a series of tricks he did with aplomb and agility to run away with the gold medal in the bicycle stunt (flatland) and earn a trip to the Summer X-Games in Philadelphia this August.
The 25-year-old Ito, an organizer of X-Games back home, actually finished fourth in the elims behind compatriots Ryoji Yamamoto, Yosuke Uno and Kotaro Tanaka, but showed it all in the finals to rule the first of six events beind disputed here.
"I just told myself to stay calm and do my tricks," said Ito, who amassed a total of 95.25 points.
Yamamoto settled for second with 94.25 followed by Tanana (93.75) and Uno (92.25) in that order.
Two Filipinos – Jojo Sanchez and Rodrigo Nagrampa – saw action in the event which put emphasis on style, difficult and consistency, but both failed to make it past the elims.
Both actually had good starts with each one showing his own stunts and tricks. But they had one too many slips and eventually dropped out of the race for the finals.
The Japanese likewise showed the way in aggressive in-line skating (vertical) with brothers Takeshi and Eito Yasutoko and Rui Kitamura taking the first three spots ahead of fancied Australian Sam Fogarty.
The gold medal is being disputed at presstime as well as in skateboarding (vertical).
Meanwhile, three more Pinoy bets – Mark Schultz, Laurence Davila and Jorge Baquir – strut their wares today in bicycle stunt (park), each one hoping to get past the elims and gain a crack at the prestigious Summer X-Games.
More than 300 action athletes are competing in the four-day event presented by Toyota which stakes Summer X-Games berths in bicycle stunts, skateboarding, aggressive in-line skating, sport climbing and wakeboarding.
Outclassed by the opposition, the Filipinos are keeping an open mind about the competition, this being part of their exposure to learn and further develop their talent and skills.