Skateboard

The weather on Venice Beach was typical for a Sunday afternoon in August: The sun was out, there was a slight breeze, the thermometer registered 74 degrees. So, naturally, it was the perfect day for snowboarding. In a patch on the boardwalk amid wandering tourists and crispy beach bums, a snowcapped mountain had been erected out of scaffolding, plywood and massive bricks of ice chipped into a wintry powder. It was built just for the day for the Supergirl Jam, a women's competition in snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing.

When even the skateboarders start commenting on the heat, you know it's hot. But 16-year-old Nyjah Huston survived the temperatures as well as eight runs in two rounds Saturday to claim his first X Games gold medal. "One of the best feelings of my whole life," said Huston, a Northern California native who now resides in Huntington Beach. "Definitely the best win of my career. After getting silver the last two years, when you get gold, it just feels so great. " Huston advanced from an elimination round earlier in the afternoon, and then took to the concrete plaza four times in the finals, all in the glaring sun. "When you get to the end of your run, your legs are definitely giving out," Huston said.

Stressed out, not skating the way he wanted, and with one run left and a gold medal on the line, Shaun White thought of his brother's recent advice: "You just have to stop thinking and do what you used to do. " In the skateboard vert final Saturday at the X Games in Los Angeles, with the packed Nokia Theatre crowd cheering him on, White did exactly that. His brilliant sixth and final run landed him a score of 93, which overtook his rival Pierre-Luc Gagnon's score of 91.66.

After 17 X Games and 21 medals, it makes sense that Bob Burnquist would know what it takes to win gold. Burnquist proved that again Friday night in the Skateboard Big Air competition, landing two 540-degree turns in his fourth run to earn a score of 92.66 points. "It feels great," Burnquist said. "It's a dream. I never thought I'd be holding it down this long. " Burnquist landed two of the only six runs to include two successful tricks. Defending gold medalist Jake Brown failed to land a single run as he attempted a backflip over the 70-foot gap, and 14-year-old sensation Mitchie Brusco never even got to attempt his famed 900. In Brusco's final four runs, he failed to land his jump over the gap preceding the quarterpipe.

Santa Cruz native Raven Tershy only finished two runs in the skateboard park finals, but those two runs were all he needed to win his first X Games gold medal. Tershy's total of 82 points edged the 81 of defending gold medalist Pedro Barros. "He deserved it," Barros said. "He skated the whole contest amazing ? It was a really good feeling to see my friend out there, killing it out there. " Barros opened the finals with two runs of 40 and 41, respectively, to take what appeared to be a commanding and decisive lead.

People began asking for Mitchie Brusco's autograph when he was 3½ years old. But he couldn't write yet, so he asked his older sister Jessica for help. One night, they created his mark: the letter M with a skateboard drawn beneath it. He called it his "M. " "Why do they want my 'M?' " he would ask his mother, Jennifer, when people approached the Kirkland, Wash., native at skate parks after a run. Brusco didn't know it, but the people watching how he maneuvered on a skateboard as a toddler, they knew he would be a star.

Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn's plan to build a skateboard park in the shadow of the Watts Towers is being ramrodded through without full consideration of the potential impact on the fragile national historic landmark or proper consultation with its owner, the state of California, the top state parks official in Los Angeles said Monday. Hahn, who faces voters Tuesday in a runoff election for Congress, has proposed a skate park as a vitally needed recreational outlet for Watts youth.

Chris Cahill, one of the original Dogtown Z-Boys who brought seismic changes to skateboarding with their style and attitude, has died. He was 54. Cahill was found June 24 at his Los Angeles home, said Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County coroner's office. A cause of death has not been determined and tests are ongoing, Dietz said. The Z-Boys came together in the 1970s at the Zephyr surf shop in Santa Monica. Dogtown referred to a coastal area of south Santa Monica and Venice.

Walter Molo wouldn't go. "Go, Molo, go!" his friends yelled. The once-avid motorcycle rider is not one to shy from adventure. But to dive 4 feet down a steep concrete embankment — in a wheelchair, while paralyzed from the waist down? "Yeah," Molo said, gripping his wheels a few feet from the edge. "I'm gonna have to take a moment to think this one over. " A skateboarding park on Venice Beach transformed into a training ground Saturday morning as several dozen paraplegics and quadriplegics learned to drop, roll and dive on curved walls as tall as school buses.

Abbiee Herrera and Isaura Pizano stood out in the sea of boys. Dressed in shorts and flannel shirts, the pair took in the boisterous scene at Hollenbeck Park inBoyle Heights: A legion of skateboarders — mainly grungy teenage boys on summer break — were revving to take to the streets Tuesday afternoon in celebration of Go Skateboarding Day. "Boys are always surprised when they see us," said Herrera, 18, who likes to skate with Isaura, 17,...