Boarder Broaches Great Wall. No Way? Way!

LOS ANGELES –Daredevil 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, an event sponsor said.

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, sponsor Quiksilver, Inc. said.

"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.

A crowd of 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, Quiksilver’s greater China marketing director Ryan
Hollis said.

"It was pretty fantastic," Hollis said in an interview from Beijing. "He
really has spent quite a few years even thinking about this whole idea.
It’s been in logistical planning for about eight months. … It was pretty
amazing today to see this happen, to see it adopted by the culture, adopted
by the government."

from The
Boston Globe