Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: GM, Ford, Home Depot among America's shrinking corporate giants

Skateboarder clears Great Wall of China

Way becomes first to jump over landmark without motorized aid

IMage: Way jumpAP
Skateboarder Danny Way jumps the Great Wall of China. Way cleared the wall at Ju Yong Guan, north of Beijing, on Saturday. Way was attempting to break his own skateboarding records for distance and unaided height out of a ramp.

LOS ANGELES - Skateboarder Danny Way rolled down a massive ramp at nearly 50 mph and jumped across the Great Wall of China on Saturday, becoming the first person to clear the wall without motorized aid.

Way botched the landing on his first attempt but then successfully completed the jump across the 61-foot gap four times, adding 360 degree spins on his last three tries, according to sponsor Quiksilver Inc.

“I was aware of the dangers and my heart was pumping in my chest the whole time, but I managed to pull it off with the help of my team, and I’m honored to have my visions embraced by the people of China,” Way said in a statement.

Several thousand people, including China’s ministers of extreme sports and culture, gathered at the Ju Yong Guan Gate, about a 40-minute drive from Beijing.

Way made the jump on an adaptation of the so-called mega ramp, a gigantic structure that he helped create near his home in the Southern California desert.

Slide show: The Week in Sports Pictures
QUALLS GIPSON
  Oct. 3 - 9
Images from the baseball playoffs, NFL, college football, and more.
He set a skateboard jump world record for distance (79 feet) on a mega ramp at last summer’s X Games, and in 2003 set the height record of 23½ feet at the desert ramp.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement
More news
Image: Pekingese Palacegarden Malachy trots in ring at the 135th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York
Reuters
Pekingese favored to be top dog

Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.

NY cable dispute blacks out Knicks, 4 NHL teams

NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''

Image:
AP
Six new breeds will join show at Westminster

Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.

Slide show
Image: Snee, 8, son of New York Giants player Chris Snee and head coach Coughlin's grandson plays in the confetti after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis
  The Week in Sports Pictures
The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more.

more photos

Slideshow
Boston Celtics v Indiana Pacers
  Who's hot on Twitter?
Check out which of your favorite athletes have the best pages and most followers!

NBCSports.com

Special feature
"American Woman: Fashioning A National Identity" Met Gala - Arrivals
When athletes and celebs get together
A look at the many links between sports and Hollywood stars.

NBCSports.com

Slideshow
Image: To match Special Report CAMPAIGN/ROMNEY-OLYMPICS
  Presidential candidates and sports
How do President Obama and his Republican rivals stack up when it comes to their sports backgrounds?