X marks the spot

Starting Thursday, skateboarders, bicyclists and motocross stunt-riders compete in the 13th annual summer X Games in Los Angeles. The inaugural event was staged in Rhode Island in 1995, thrusting young athletes involved in nontraditional sports past their cult followings and into the mainstream. Since then, the X Games has grown, adding athletes and sports and gaining prestige. Here are 10 athletes to watch this week.

By BOB PUTNAM
Published July 29, 2007

Starting Thursday, skateboarders, bicyclists and motocross stunt-riders compete in the 13th annual summer X Games in Los Angeles. The inaugural event was staged in Rhode Island in 1995, thrusting young athletes involved in nontraditional sports past their cult followings and into the mainstream. Since then, the X Games has grown, adding athletes and sports and gaining prestige. Here are 10 athletes to watch this week.

Ricky Carmichael, motocross

Two years ago, the Clearwater-born star became the first rider to win both heats in all 12 events of the 250cc class. Carmichael also is the first with 100 combined AMA motocross and supercross victories. He is in the first-ever moto x racing event and will compete against Dade City's Tim Ferry and Chad Reed among others.

Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, skateboarding

One of the top young skateboarders, Hawkins was the first woman to clear the 55-foot gap on Danny Way's California mega ramp. She has competed in three X Games, medaling four times, including gold in women's vert in 2004. A knee injury prevented her from skating in last year's games.

Travis Pastrana, rally car

He is the most accomplished rider in freestyle motocross history with seven gold medals. Last year, he stunned his competitors with a double backflip to win the freestyle motocross best trick event. But Pastrana is now concentrating on rally car racing after winning the event last year.

Kevin Robinson, BMX

At 200 pounds, Robinson is the largest rider on the vert ramp. But he can fly. Last year, he won the BMX freestyle best-trick event on the halfpipe. He followed that up by taking gold in the freestyle big-air competition, the first-ever at the X Games.

Ryan Sheckler, skateboarding

A star at 16, Sheckler was the only competitor to land every trick in street skateboarding at the 2003 X Games. That year, he won titles at the Vans Triple Crown, Gravity Games and the World Cup Championships. Last year, he took silver. He has since added 25 pounds of muscle.

Elissa Steamer, skateboarding

The Fort Myers native has dominated women's street skating, winning the event the past three years at the X Games. Steamer, who turns 32 on Monday, will have to hold off a young field of skaters, including Lauren Perkins, 18, and Lacey Baker, 15, to win her fourth straight title.

Jeremy Stenberg, motocross

Last year, Stenberg missed the X Games after breaking his left leg in two places and his right ankle during a run in the finals of a Dew Action Sports Tour competition. The injuries were so severe, he underwent five operations and four months of rehabilitation. But the former X Games gold medalist is back and will compete in best trick.

James "Bubba" Stewart, motocross

The Haines City native is a supercross wunderkind who became the first African-American rider to finish first in the 32-year history of the 250 series. He has 17 sports and vintage cars and keeps them in a garage where he lives with his family. He will be competing against Carmichael in moto x racing.

Danny Way, skateboarding

Way took skateboarding to new heights in July 2005 when he took off on a 55 mph run down a ramp that carried him over the Great Wall of China, setting Guinness world records for the longest leap, highest air and fastest speed on a skateboard. He also has won the big air competition the past three years.

Shaun White, skateboarding

An Olympic gold medalist in snowboarding, White is trying to duplicate his success in skateboarding. For the past two years, he has tried to become the first skater to land the 1080 spin (three full rotations). The best-trick category has been removed, so White will now focus on vert skating.

[Last modified July 28, 2007, 23:18:25]