American Crowned KING???
Stockholm -The dream team of freeskiers clashed in the world's premiere indoor contest for skiers - King of the Globe in the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The 18 skiers put up an awesome show accompanied by heavy rock 'n' roll: Turbonegro and Backyard Babies.
The crowd pleaser American 17-year-old Simon Dumont was the night's winner. In his winning run he pulled off the rare jump, Cork 540, spinning like and helicopter and landing backwards. He took massive air and landed fakie (backwards).
"I am totally psyched to win, first time ever on the podium. This is the coolest competition ever. The riders and the audience really pushed each other to do radical moves," he said.
The brightest star of the new era, Swedish charger 21-year-old Jon Olsson, finished second. He took the highest air and showed that he is really one of the best. "You always want to be number 1, but I knew it would be tough to beat the other guys," said an ever-smiling Jon. "It was great fun and I can't wait until next year."
Laurent Favre was the only rider to pull off a zero spin, riding backwards on the 40 degree steep up-run, and landing backwards. The bold Frenchman finished third.
This was a night dedicated to the new era of freeskiers. All finalists were in their late teens or early twenties. These new superstars were overwhelmed by the spectacular event and the support from the dedicated audience.
The steep in-run generated a great deal of speed, more than 70 km/h. The landing took place on the world's largest double-sided spine, which fueled variation and creativity. The skiers jumped even higher than yesterday's snowboarders, flying 17 meters off the ground.
The three finalists' battle was tight. The decisive elements for the judges were the combination of style, air and technical difficulty.
The winner Simon Dumont was awarded with glory and 10,000 USD. Jon Olsson walked out with 3,000 USD and Laurent Favre with 1,000 USD.
Pictures, results and further information are available at www.megaevents.com and PRESS.
Mega Events Global AB (MEG) started arranging action sport events back in 1996. Since then the company has successfully staged over 30 events. These events include Megastar 1996-1997; the World Cup in Wakeboard 1998, the in-official Nordic Championships in Kite surfing 2001-2003 and Family Gathering 1999-2003. Today MEG is one of the world's most successful organizers of action sport events. The company's HQ is in Mölnlycke outside Gothenburg.
Results final
Ranking: Rider name: Best Run:
1 Simon Dumont (USA) 89,33
2 Jon Olsson (SWE) 88,33
3 Laurent Favre (FRA) 87,33
4 Baptiste Collomb-Patton (FRA) 84,00
Participating Riders:
Jacob Wester (SWE)
Chris Biollo (CAN)
Baptiste Collomb-Patton (FRA)
Chris Turpin (CAN)
Gigi Coutet (FRA)
Simon Dumont (USA)
Lars Veen (NOR)
Laurent Favre (FRA)
Mikael Deschenaux (CH)
Niklas Karlström (SWE)
Peter Olenick (USA)
Phil Belanger (CAN)
Rex Thomas (USA)
Rory Bushfield (CAN)