And the New World Champion Is . . . Still A Yasutoko!

Takeshi Yasutoko gives up his title to his brother.

LG Action Sports Championships
Inline Vert Finals Recap
By Chris Mitchell

(October 22, 2005) It felt like a family reunion. Skaters who hadn’t seen each other in months hugged and chatted on the deck before the comp started. Marco de Santi took a break from Cirque du Soleil rehearsal. Ayumi Kawasaki made the long haul from Osaka, Japan. And Marc Englehart put his skates on for the first time since twisting his knee nearly a month ago.

Crowd expectations were high for Rich Parker of Glastonbury, England. As the only UK representative on the ramp, he was the object of a deafening roar from the audience as he prepared to drop in. Unfortunately, the pressure got the better of him, and he ended up crumpled in the flat bottom before the end of his first run.

Marc Englehart made a desperate bid for the championship title by throwing everything in his arsenal. His first run featured a double flat spin before ending abruptly in the flat. In his second run, he went for broke, throwing the 1440 on the third wall. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards, and he finished 13th.

Fabiola with a method.

Ayumi Kawasaki skated a terrific run with high airs and a fakie 900. After the first run, it looked like she was going to beat Fabiola da Silva , who went down early on a double back flip attempt. But then, in her second run, Fab stuck the double back, as well as a flat spin that spanned fully five panels, and pulled into 4th.

Thumper Nagasako did what was generally agreed to be “his best run ever.” He went higher than usual and his tricks had more confidence. He nailed a 900 and a hover flip and finished in 7th.

16-year old Kevin Marron Lopez , who won the 2004 amateur world championships soared high above the competition today, throwing big tricks like an inverted 720. And Marco de Santi made a strong showing with an alley oop double flat spin 360, but did not pull out the legendary triple flat spin, and finished 5th.

Shane Yost got his day in the sun today with a terrific run. He nailed all his Yosty spin/flips and even threw in a new trick: a stylish double flat spin.

Eito Yasutoko spins a 540 at ten feet above the coping.

The 2004 ASC World Champion, Takeshi Yasutoko started out strong with enormous airs. He stuck a Viking flip and a double Viking flip, but went down to one knee on his double flat spin, and couldn’t get the momentum back.

And so the Championship went to Eito Yasutoko , who did a nearly perfect run that included a double back, a double back 180, a double flat and a California Roll 1080.