../events/2002 Gravity Games

Sources: NBC, Cream #19 january 2003., www.bikerule.com, www.gravitygames.com, ...
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Date: july 27-august 4, 2002
Place: Cleveland Ohio
Sport organizer: Dennis McCoy.
RIDING HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DIRT FINALS
Stephen Murray barley edged out Allan Cooke for the dirt win. Competing against the best bike dirt riders in the world, Stephen Murray stepped up his last run and pulled a double back flip and a back flip 360 to lock in his first place finish. "Unbelievable, coming in here knowing all eyes were on me. Feeling the pressure. I am so lucky," stated Murray after his final run. Despite popping out his left knee, Murray kept his focus the whole run. "Flow is really important and I rely on keeping it consistent all the way through." 2002 DIRT FINAL RESULTS
1.Stephen Murray
2.Allan Cooke
3.Chris Doyle
4.Mike Aitken
5.Corey Bohen
6.Cory Nastazio
7.Ryan Nyquist
8.Brian Foster
9.Adam Baker
10.T.J. Lavin
RIDING HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STREET FINALS
Dave Mirra put in an outstanding last run to take first place in the final Gravity Games event. With a storm blowing in, Mirra kicked into high gear and proved he still has what it takes to bring home a gold medal. Sitting in fourth place going into his last run, Mirra set the tone by opening with a 720. From there the show continued: tailwhip 360, tailwhip 180 to revert to a Decade air. Mirra ended his run with a victory lap and went for a 540 blindside tire-tap on the wall.
After his first run, Ryan Nyquist knew he had secured a medal when he completed a back-flip and double bar-spin truckdriver. After two crashes that would have sent most riders home, he was able to land a backflip 360.
Third-place finisher Tom Haugen was the most consistent rider of the night, with two very impressive runs. On his final run, Haugen completed a bunny-hop tailwhip, 720 tire-tap to X-up, 360 tailwhip over the spine, Superman seat grab, and 360 tailwhip tire-tap transfer to secure his place on the podium.
2002 STREET FINAL RESULTS
1.Dave Mirra
2.Ryan Nyquist
3.Tom Haugen
4.Mike Parenti
5.Colin MacKay
6.Chad Kagy
7.Rob Darden
8.Brian Foster
9.Mike Laird
10.Dave Osato
RIDING HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE VERT FINALS
Simon Tabron took gold in vert with 540 variations, a 900 and a list of othe trickery while Mirra followed up a super close second. The 540 whipping madness from Jay Miron was out of hand and then Jay went for a double tailwhip 540. He finished a respectable third. With a big dose of bad luck, Jamie Bestwick broke his arm between the elbow and the shoulder, which means he'll be out for a while and will miss the X-Games again this year. It's a double bummer because his run was amazing and looking like a winner until his washed out a flair and broke the arm. 2002 VERT FINAL RESULTS
1.Simon Tabron
2.Dave Mirra
3.Jay Miron
4.Dennis McCoy
5.Jimmy Walker
6.Chad Kagy
7.Koji Kraft
8.Jamie Bestwick
9.John Parker
10.Jay Eggleston