Daniel Dhers wins BMX Park

Updated: July 30, 2011, 4:57 PM ET
By Devon O'Neil | ESPN.com

Daniel Dhers defended his gold medal in BMX Park on Saturday afternoon, employing a risky strategy by skipping his third run to conserve energy for his final two trips through the sweltering concrete course. The strategy paid off when Dhers edged Dennis Enarson in a tiebreaker.

"I knew that heat was going to be a big, big factor," said Dhers, who has now won four gold medals in Park. "I'm so stoked right now. When it came time for the last run, I thought to myself, 'I'm gonna try it,' and I'm glad it worked. I feel like out of all the gold medals I've won, this one has a whole new meaning to me. It was hard, but I was really happy to get it working in the end."

Dhers runs included corked 720s on the step down, indian air tailwhips and alley-oop double tailwhip 270 transfers.

Tied with Dhers at 81 points, Enarson needed a 36-point run (out of a possible 50) on his final trip through the course to top Dhers' third-best score. But the 20-year-old San Diego rider -- unaware of what he needed to win gold -- fell and scored just 20 points to settle for his second straight silver in Park. Enarson's runs employed more of a bowl riding strategy than Dhers, and included double tailwhip pocket airs, classically styled backflip tailwhips and fakie step through nosepicks in the deep end.

Scotty Cranmer, a two-time Park gold medalist (2006, 2009), won bronze. Chase Hawk placed fourth, followed by X Games Park veteran Gary Young in fifth.

Devon O'Neil

Writer, Action Sports
O'Neil was raised in the Virgin Islands before dropping anchor to ski, write, and combine the two for profit. He now lives in Breckenridge, Colo.

MOST SENT STORIES ON ESPN.COM

MORE FROM THE WEB

ESPN Conversations

comments