MCDONALD BEATS THE HAWK IN THE VERT

NEWPORT, R.I. - The unthinkable happened at the Newport Yachting Center on Saturday afternoon as Tony Hawk, the founding father of skateboarding, finished second. Andy MacDonald, originally from Boston, Mass., pulled off the upset with three outstanding runs at the men's skateboard vert finals at the ESPN X Games for alternative sports. Hawk, the defending champion in this event, was the crowd favorite, as chants of "Tony, Tony" echoed from the grandstands. It was to no avail, however, as the enthusiasm of the crowd failed to persuade the judges. MacDonald scored an 87.670 on his final run, barely inching out the favored Hawk, who had a 87.500.

"I had the runs of my life," MacDonald said. "To beat a guy like Tony in a competition like this is awesome."

MacDonald, who finished ninth in last year's event, was flawless on all of his runs, making it almost impossible for the judges to find fault with him. His flips were higher, his stunts crisper and his overall performance was worthy of the gold medal.

It looked as though Hawk wrapped it up on his final run, but a stunned crowd looked at the scoreboard to see Hawk finish behind MacDonald.

"I thought he had it won after that final run," said MacDonald, a Hollywood stuntman and pro skateboarder. "I was just as surprised as anybody to see that I held on to win."

The 27-year-old Hawk performed nearly twice as many aerial maneuvers as did MacDonald, but his final run wasn't enough to overtake the 22-year-old MacDonald.

"Andy was tough out there," Hawk said. "I just try to skate my best and leave it up to the judges. That's all I can do."

Hawk, who threw his helmet into the bleachers following his final run and gave two skateboards away after the competition, says winning isn't that important to him.

"People think that I would be devastated by losing an event like this," Hawk said. "I'm really happy for Andy. He deserves it. I had fun here and that's all that counts."

Despite his silver medal performance, Hawk is regarded as the top skater in the world.

"Tony's still the best ever," said third-place finisher Tas Pappas. "He's somebody that I look up to both in skating and in life. I love competing against him because then you realize how good you are."

But if Saturday was any kind of indication, then MacDonald is on his way to stardom in a sport that Hawk has owned for years.

Results of men's skateboard vert finals