SKATE COMPETITION
Placing first and second in preliminaries, and then skating to gold and silver medals respectively, Eito Yasutoko and his younger brother Takeshi Yasutoko, both natives of Kobe City, Japan, dominated the elite field of skaters at the X Games IX Aggressive In-line Skate Vert final.
Eito Yasutoko made X Games history, becoming the first male aggressive in-liner to win three X Games gold medals in his career. The brothers have won a combined total of ten X Games medals along with a slew of other Asian X Games honors.
Eito Yasutoko staked his claim to the gold in the final run of the event when he executed a winning line that contained a California roll, a flatspin 540, and an unheard-of three double backflips, including two traditional double backflips and one with an impressive 180 exit. Eito entered his final run in second place with only his younger brother Takeshi ahead of him in the standings. Takeshi and the Staples Center crowd cheered Eito onto a virtually flawless run and a daunting score of 97.25.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 18, 2003. Read the original PDF.