Skateboarder clears Great Wall of China

Way becomes first to jump over landmark without motorized aid

	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.
Greg Baker / AP

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updated 4:10 p.m. ET July 11, 2005

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.

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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.

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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.