MADISON, Wis. — Jason Wynyard holds three gold medals in the Men's Endurance event at ESPN's Great Outdoor Games. However, two years ago, it was his brother-in-law, Dion Lane, who gave him his only semifinal defeat in the event.

Lane set the Great Outdoor Games record in doing so — chopping through two 12-inch aspen logs and sawing through a 21-inch pine log in 50.92 seconds.

Going into Saturday's gold medal round, it seemed as though Lane was primed for another upset of No. 1-ranked Wynyard. Lane has lost 50 pounds during training in the last year and had posted the best time in advancing to the final.

"I absolutely thought I was going to beat him," said the 6-foot-4, now 285-pound Lane.

However, experience proved to be the difference Saturday as Wynyard added a fourth gold medal in Men's Endurance, posting a time of 1:00.90 in the final, almost 13 seconds better than Lane.

"I guess experience paid off for me," said Wynyard. "I know it takes clean cuts and smooth transitions. I had really smooth transitions through the first two cuts."

Wynyard came through the first cut — the underhand chop — before Lane and never looked back.

"I had a feeling it might come down to that, and I've been chopping very well," said Wynyard.

Wynyard had another obstacle to clear this week, other than Lane gunning for him. Last Saturday he went to the hospital for treatment of the fever and headaches he'd been suffering for several days. He was diagnosed with an illness from a tick bite, one similar but not as serious as Lyme disease.

"I had really been training hard for this," said the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Wynyard. "But I was in bed for about three or four days this week. That's no way to prepare for this event."

Wynyard, who is married to Lane's sister, Carmen, had hoped to set a world record in the Endurance event. After the illness hit, he was more than happy to settle for a gold medal.

"All the credit goes to Jason," Lane said. "He's pretty much the best in the world in this event."

Both Wynyard and Lane are from Massey, New Zealand.

Arden Cogar of West Hamlin, West Va., took the bronze medal, defeating Matt Bush, who won the GOG men's endurance gold medal in 2002. It marked the first time for Cogar to medal in the event.

"This is the first time for anyone under 6-foot-4 to medal in this event," said a smiling Cogar, who stands 5-10 and weighs 245. "Go short people!"

Men's Endurance - Final Standings

1 JASON WYNYARD
2 DION LANE
3 ARDEN COGAR Jr.
4 MATT BUSH
5 DAVE JEWETT
6 DAVID BOLSTAD
7 CARSON BOSWORTH
8 MIKE FORRESTER
9 DALE RYAN
10 MEL LENTZ
11 MIKE SULLIVAN
12 JUSTIN BECKETT
13 MIKE EASH
14 HARRY BURNSWORTH Sr.
15 DAVID MOSES
16 J P MERCIER

Results (By Round)

Final Round
Jason Wynyard 1:00.900 def Dion Lane 1:13.857

Consolation Round
Arden Cogar Jr. 1:04.916 def Matt Bush 1:40.750

Semi-Final Round
Jason Wynyard 57.550 def Arden Cogar Jr. 8:00.000
Dion Lane 56.628 def Matt Bush 57.757

Quarter-Final Round
Jason Wynyard 55.271 def Dave Jewett 1:05.455
Arden Cogar Jr. 1:02.566 def Carson Bosworth 1:20.166
Dion Lane 54.533 def David Bolstad 1:06.412
Matt Bush 1:12.601 def Mike Forrester 1:25.942

Round One
Jason Wynyard 1:16.062 def J P Mercier 2:29.291
Dave Jewett 1:16.457 def Mike Sullivan 1:22.871
Arden Cogar Jr. 1:07.885 def David Moses 2:06.028
Carson Bosworth 1:18.714 def Mel Lentz 1:19.016
David Bolstad 1:20.725 def Harry Burnsworth Sr. 1:46.960
Dion Lane 1:02.485 def Dale Ryan 1:07.014
Matt Bush 1:25.500 def Mike Eash 1:37.957
Mike Forrester 1:30.960 def Justin Beckett 1:34.500*