CELEBRATION, Fla. — Dion Lane had joked and laughed his way to this point, entertaining the crowd with his antics as he chopped his way to the Men's Endurance final. His last match, though, would be conducted with complete seriousness and unbreakable concentration.

One minute and four seconds later, when Lane beat Jason Wynyard, his brother-in-law and a four-time gold medalist, there was no laughing, no grin, just his big fist thrown into the air as he reveled in victory over his friend and fellow New Zealander for only the second time.

"It's very serious," Lane said. "He's a great competitor. He'll probably come back bigger and stronger next year."

The Men's Endurance event at ESPN's Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge challenges competitors to sever three blocks, using an underhand chop for the first, a standing block position for the second and a single buck for the last. The final event was held at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex Sunday morning.

Lane fell behind on Wynyard on the underhand chop, but then Wynyard, who beat Lane in the final last year, ran into a bad piece of wood on the standing block.

"I got a bad draw," said Wynyard, 31. "I was pretty disappointed when I put two hits in it and it only went in an inch."

Lane, 29, took advantage of the opportunity and carved out a substantial lead going into the final leg, the single buck saw.

"I just knuckled down and toughened up," Lane said. "I just pushed myself as hard as I could so he could see me going hard."

Wynyard's wife, Karmyn, is Lane's sister, and the two often train together and travel to competitions together.

"He won't have to rub it in," Wynyard said. "The salt's there already."

Up to the final, Lane had already distinguished himself as the event's showman, especially when he had big leads. In the first round, he took the time to put his ax in a case going between the standing block and the single buck. And when competitor Arden Cogar of West Hamlin, W.Va., ran out of energy and stopped in the final leg of the semifinal, Lane stopped, too, pausing for about 20 seconds while joking with Cogar with only a few inches of wood left to saw through.

"He's quite the character," Wynyard said.

Cogar won the bronze, with competitor Matt Bush of Croghan, N.Y., forfeiting so he could catch his plane home Sunday morning. The event originally was scheduled for Saturday, but was postponed because of rain.

Final standings

1. Dion Lane, Massey, Auckland, New Zealand
2. Jason Wynyard, Massey, Auckland, New Zealand
3. Arden Cogar, West Hamlin, W.Va.
4. Matt Bush, Croghan, N.Y.
5. Dave Jewett, Pittsford, N.Y.
6. Mike Sullivan, Winstead, Conn.
7. Mike Forrester, Idleyld Park, Ore.
8. Cecil Starr, Mac Tier, Canada
9. David Moses, Snoqualmie, Wash.
10. Brad Turner, Gordon Victoria, Victoria, Australia
11. Mike Eash, Coatsville, Pa.
12. Rob Waibel, West Linn, Ore.
13. Jeff Skirvin, Clatskanie, Ore.
14. Rick Halvorson, Alma Center, Wis.
14. Harry Burnsworth, Mill Run, Pa.

The Games will be aired on ESPN and ABC Sports July 13-17, 2005. Click here for the broadcast schedule.