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Eito Reveals the Future
Inline Vert Prelims Recap
By Mike Opalek
Sitting in the shade watching the inline vert practice, my hangover reminds me that free Patron shots at Element Lounge last night might not have been the blessing I thought it was at the time. It's hot here in Richmond, Virginia and a lot of the buildings are brick. I like that. I'm not happy that I'm going to miss the US vs. Italy World Cup game (at least Ghana beat the Czech Rep. this morning, giving the US a chance to move out of the group stages if they actually come out and play today and either win or draw), but I've heard a lot of hushed rumors about Eito Yasutoko's new trick, which he calls "The Twister," and I'm excited to see it for myself.
Since there are only 10 competitors at this vert comp, the skaters ride pretty cautiously throughout the prelims. Patrick Zimmermann comes all the way from Germany only to twist his ankle in his first run. Bad luck for Patrick who was skating well in practice.
Jaren Grob, who was spotted at 3 am at a diner coating his stomach with grease after a night of Patron shots, falls on both his runs. Fabiola da Silva, just coming off minor knee surgery, comes out with two solid runs that feature a nice flat 540. Marc Englehart, (a.k.a. America's greatest vert hope), puts together two excellent runs. His 540's are sweet and plentiful, throwing in a mixture of grabs like Stale Japan and Liu Kang.
The highlights come from none other than Eito and his younger brother, Takeshi. Takeshi's lip tricks are a thing of beauty; imagine this: backslide to alley-oop top soul 360 (the hard way) out. Or his front torque to top soul. He even slides a misfit for about 3 panels (12ft.). And his airs are wicked too: forward 900, Viking flip, double Viking flip. (It's really hard to judge Takeshi and Eito, as you really just want to watch and not have to worry about which one is going to win this time). Eito's first run is packed with his usual hammers: California roll, 12 ft. rocket airs, double back flips. But on his second run, he takes a chance and goes for his new trick, which goes something like this: backflip-720-backflip. He tries it twice but fails to land either one.
When interviewed, Eito says he has practiced The Twister so much, he feels confident that he can land it during the finals.
When all is said and done, everyone is sweaty and ready for some shade. Hopefully, by the time I get to Stool Pigeons for the party tonight, the US will have beaten Italy and I'll be ready for another round of Patron. The finals tomorrow should bring out the best in everyone as they gun for the top prize and a chance to compete at the 2006 LG Action Sports Championships.
