Returning medalists dominate Bass Fishing's first round
ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Floridian Shaw Grigsby and Texan Gary Klein showed why many had picked them as the pre-event favorites in the Bass Fishing competition at this year's ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge when they delivered a first round catch of 17 pounds, 9 ounces — more than twice as much as their nearest competitors.
"This was a little better than we expected," said Klein, a California native who now lives in Weatherford, Texas. "This was just an unbelievable day. We had great execution with six key hits, catching four and missing two. Tomorrow we will probably just need a limit. I love fishing out here."
This is the first year that the Games bass event has been a team competition, allowing the anglers, who were paired by random draw, to weigh the heaviest seven fish that each team could catch. The highest cumulative weight over two days will net a gold medal.
Large Dog Superweave: Games rookie takes gold
Reno, Nev. — Ken Fairchild of North Sandwich, N.H., reached a pinnacle in his dog-handling and training career Friday by winning the gold medal in the Large Dogs Superweave competition at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.
Echo, his 7-year-old border collie, beat out Ransom, a 3-year-old border collie trained by Sherry Kluever of Romeoville, Ill., in head-to-head competition that included a slalom pole course for weaving, pipe tunnels, chutes and pole jumps. Ransom took silver from the round. Static, a 6-year-old border collie trained by Jennifer Pinder of Lapeer, Mich., took the bronze.
"Echo has some incredible heart, and she puts everything into it," Fairchild, 47, said after his dog won four consecutive races to take the gold. "I just hope I can live up to the challenge and keep up with her."
Small Dog Superweave: Experience trumps youth in finals
Taz, a 7-year-old female Shetland sheepdog trained by Jean LaValley of Murfreesboro, Tenn., earned a gold medal Friday in the Small Dog division of the Superweave competition at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.
Taz beat Shimmer, an 8-year-old Shetland sheepdog trained by Barbara Davis, a mathematics instructor from Newman Lake, Wash. Sizzle, trained by Karen Holik of West Chicago, Ill., took the bronze medal.
"This was a strong field, so this is a big win for her," said LaValley, a 33-year-old veterinarian. There were other, faster dogs in the field, but she's older and experienced, and that helped."
Archery: Kansas archer takes gold by topping star-studded field
Darren Collins of Kansas faced off against the gold and silver medalist archers from the 2002 Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge and defeated them both to capture his first gold medal Friday afternoon at the 2003 Games.
Collins, who won the bronze medal in 2002 and was defeated in the quarterfinals at the 2000 Games, defeated North Carolina's Randy Hendrix 42-39 in the semifinals to advance to the gold medal round. Collins then defeated 2002 silver medalist Randy Ulmer in the gold-medal round, 33-30, delighting the capacity crowd with his dramatic win.
"I'm just glad I faced them in the finals, not in the early rounds," Collins said. "If you face them too early in the day, you can be out of this thing before it even starts."
The archery competition at the Great Outdoor Games is a high-speed, head-to-head, single-elimination tournament that features moving and stationary targets, most of which shatter on impact and are worth a variety of points.
Collins defeated Hendrix and Ulmer in back-to-back bouts at the "Speed Challenge" station, in which the archers race to shoot four 3-inch targets at 25 yards. The first archer to finish gets a three-point bonus, which was the deciding factor in both the semifinal and final rounds. In the semifinal round, Collins hit his four targets in 24.63 seconds to defeat Hendrix, and then, in the finals, raced through the station in 19.52 seconds to dash Ulmer's hopes for his first gold medal in this event.
Tree Topping: A hart of gold
Greg Hart of Canada spread his arms wide in the breeze atop a 65-foot pole after taking back the gold from last year's winner in the tree-topping finals at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.
He beat defending champion, now silver medalist, Wade Stewart by almost 10 seconds.
Brian Bartow of Grants Pass, Ore. took the bronze for the second year in a row.
Hart credited his win to a new, custom-built saw.
"It's a modified cut-and-raker," he said. "Believe it or not, I just got it five days ago; but behind that is 28 years of experience."
Men's Timber Endurance: American's scramble to wrest medals from Kiwis
The men's timber endurance competition is boiling down to a battle between New Zealanders and Americans in lumberjacking's all-around skills test.
Kiwi David Bolstad, who already has laid claim to Springboard's gold medal and Hot Saw's silver, will face Matt Bush of Croghan, N.Y. in Saturday's first semifinal match. Right behind them are New Zealand's Jason Wynyard and Arden Cogar Jr. of Hamlin, W.Va. Wynyard has a matched pair of bronze medals for Hot Saw and Springboard, while both Americans have yet to pick up a top-three finish.
The competition challenges competitors to chop and saw their way through a grueling race, made no easier by the punishing, 90-plus-degree temperatures at Rancho San Rafael Park. The competition wraps up late Saturday afternoon, and, while the Kiwis have proved to be crowd favorites, national pride erupted into chants of "U.S.A." Thursday at the timber stage in Ranch San Rafael Park.
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.
