For the first time in X Games history the women skated the same exact street course as the men – and some left an impression on those who were on hand to witness a memorable contest.
Elissa Steamer (Fort Myers, Fla.) put forth the most technical run out of the eight-woman field and earned gold. In the first jam session she hit a frontside nose slide and followed that up with a kick flip over the handrail and stairs in the third and final session.
“Winning this competition is more than anything I could have imagined,” said Steamer, who skated in the Park competition last year. “The course was amazing – forcing us to pull off the best we could. The competition format was better. It was less pressure and allowed us to try our best trick over and over.”
Vanessa Torres (Modesto, Calif.) nailed a pop shove-it up the gap as well as an ollie heel flip to garner second. “I was excited to be here,” said Torres, who was the first women’s skateboard medalist in X Games history in last year’s Park competition. “I really enjoyed the jam session.”
Rounding out the top three was 15-year-old Lauren Perkins (Huntington Beach, Calif.) whose kickflip catch and frontside 180 switch landing opened the fans’ eyes.
The entire competition helped women’s skateboarding take the next step at action sports’ premiere competition. “I thought it was great that the women got to skate what the men did,” remarked Perkins. “I loved the course and was just excited about the quality of the skating. Everyone was equal today.”
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, X Games X is the world’s premier action sports competition featuring more than 150 of the world’s best athletes competing in: Aggressive In-line Skate, Bike Stunt, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Wakeboard. The event is being held August 5-8, 2004 in Los Angeles with live primetime daily coverage on ESPN and ABC Sports
