Connecticut lumberjack wins gold

RENO, Nev. — To chants of "U.S.A." from the crowd, defending champion Mike Sullivan of Winstead, Conn., seized the gold medal in Thursday's hot saw competition at the Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

"I love this heat," he said of the blistering heat that seemed to trouble other sawyers competing at Reno's Rancho San Rafael Park. He used the same saw — constructed with half a 650-cc Rotax snowmobile engine, which he used at a Reno timber sports event in the late '90s.

"I knew it would run here," he said.

Kiwis, Aussies dominate springboard event

RENO, Nev. — Raising his silver ax overhead while perched atop a plank 7 feet above the ground, David Bolstad of New Zealand celebrated his victory over Australian Dale Ryan in a blistering gold medal Springboard competition Thursday at the Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

Bolstad, a left-hander who captured the bronze at the 2002 timber event, credits his ambidexterity with the win.

"I can chop a block right-handed pretty reasonable," he said afterward.

Bolstad's fellow Kiwi, Jason Wynyard took the bronze in the consolation round. New York State's Matt Bush was the highest-finishing American, in sixth place.

Women's Endurance: Battle of petite sawyers

They may be petite, but Michele Bolstad and Peg Engasser outpaced and outlasted their muscular competition Thursday and are headed for a face-off in the Women's Timber Endurance finals, slated for Friday at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

"Obviously, it has a lot to do with fitness," said New Zealand's Bolstad, who ousted the reigning champ and fellow Kiwi Sheree Taylor in the first round. Bolstad will go head-to-head with Cortland, N.Y.'s Engasser.

Bolstad, a police detective and wife of springboard gold medalist David Bolstad, said she doesn't think the competition is really a test of endurance. Women's endurance requires mastery of three specific skills: cutting both and up and down with a chain saw, cutting through a log from both sides with an ax and cutting through a log with a single hand saw.

"It only goes for a minute and a half," Bolstad said. "To me, that's a sprint."

Fly Fishing: Casting event leaders pick top spots on Truckee

RENO, Nev. — Arkansas' Chuck Farneth nearly broke the world record with a mighty cast of his fly rod, but fellow fly fisherman Mike McFarland of Tyrone, Pa., used pinpoint accuracy to get his choice water for the fishing competition on the Truckee River at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

Thursday's contest to determine seeding for Friday's one-fish competition was staged in four segments: distance, loop control cast, line management cast and accuracy cast, all with a light 5-weight rod and line. McFarland came out on top, closely followed by Chris King, Redding, Calif.

Farneth had vowed to cast 120 feet or better and he did. But in the end, the distance casting event alone was not enough to put him at the top of the leader board. Consistency was king - or, in the case of third-place finisher Whitney McDowell, Denver, queen - and for those who demonstrated that trait, it paid off in spades, allowing the highest-seeded competitors to select their fishing time and location for Friday's contest.

Top outdoor athletes from around the world compete for entry into the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, held in Reno-Tahoe July 10-13. The ultimate championship of outdoor sports features one-of-a-kind, head-to-head competition in timber and target events, sporting dogs, and fishing. While entertaining large crowds on site, the ESPN Great Outdoor Games also draws a worldwide television audience airing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports beginning July 19.