archive photo
Virginia's Ben Hatchell battled back from a so-so first run to take
home the gold in the Skateboard men's amateur vert final.
Hatchell, after moving to second place on his second run with a
score of 86.25 points, overtook San Diego's Josh Stafford on his
final run with a 540 off the ramp and a kick flip frontside air into
an ollie 360 to earn him a score of 87.50 and the gold medal.
"I knew had to do more. More flip tricks, another hand release,
just more variation," Hatchell said.
Stafford, who finished second with a score of 86.51, had a chance
to take back the lead but fell with 21 seconds left in his final run.
"He could have done a better run," Hatchell said of Stafford's third
run. "He had two back-to-back fives that he was going to do, but
he just fell before he got to it."
Amateur Skateboard Vert Finals
1 Ben Hatchell 87.50
2 Josh Stafford 86.50
3 Paul Luc Ronchetti 83.50
4 Chris O'Reilly 83.50
5 Marcelo Bastos 78.00
6 Zach Miller 77.00
7 Dylan Taylor 71.25
8 Ronaldo Gomes 68.75
9 Taylor Smith 68.50
10 Nolan Munroe 67.50
11 Blake Mercer 59.00