20 year old rising star Jimmy Wilkins was a shock winner in skateboard vert on the opening night of the 2014 X Games from Austin, with Sandro Dias and Mitchie Brusco following him up on to the podium.
Wilkins posted a score of 87 on the penultimate run of the night to edge into first with only eight-time gold medalist Pierre-Luc Gagnon left to drop.
Jimmy Wilkins Edges to Victory
Luckily for the 20 year old, Gagnon fell before the buzzer and afterwards he was left a little speechless. “It’s both shock and anxiety. I’m so happy.”
A tidy run with a huge ollie 540 thrown in clinched it for him, and it’s something he’s been aiming towards for a while now. “The ollie 540 is something I’d been working on at Tony Hawk’s ramp and has started to feel really natural.”
Hawk has been a mentor to Wilkins since he was a grom and was looking on as his protegée made history in only his second X Games appearance.
Sandro Dias Takes Silver
Speaking afterwards, he was chuffed to pull out a winning performance in front of his idols. “It felt really good to bring it here, knowing Tony was watching. I look up to and have been supported by all of these guys. It’s all a bit overwhelming to be honest”.
“I look up to and have been supported by all of these guys. It’s all a bit overwhelming to be honest” – Jimmy Wilkins
Mitchie Brusco Completes the Podium
Perhaps the biggest shock of the night came when Bucky Lasek, after winning all four global X Games events in 2013, finished bottom of the leaderboard. He was apparently nursing an elbow injury, and wore a t-shirt on which he’d scribbled: ‘I’m hurt not old’ on the front… with ‘Maybe a little old’ on the back.
It was a bittersweet night for the veteran 41 year old. He’s glad so many young skaters, including some he’s helped, are coming to the forefront of the sport. “When we jump up on the ramp there’s no one I’d rather beat than those young skaters… I always want to see those guys rise to the occasion but I would have preferred to be at my best when they did”.
Skateboard Vert Final Leaderboard
| PLACE | NAME | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy Wilkins | 87.00 R |
| 2 | Sandro Dias | 85.66 R |
| 3 | Mitchie Brusco | 84.00 R |
| 4 | Andy Macdonald | 83.66 R |
| 5 | Pierre-Luc Gagnon | 82.00 R |
| 6 | Bucky Lasek | 21.33 |
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