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Front flip phenom riding in Portland
Anthony Napolitan of Austintown will be joined by his brother at a Dew Tour event in Portland this week.
Omigosh.
You won’t find that word in the dictionary, but here’s what it means in adult-speak: Oh my gosh.
It also describes Anthony Napolitan’s double front-flip during the mega-ramp finals as part of the X Games at the Staples Center in Los Angeles earlier this month.
It drew a standing ovation from the 15,000 seated around the ski-jump style arrangement.
The 2004 Austintown Fitch graduate said he made BMX history.
“I’m the first person in the world ever to do a double front-flip,” the 23-year-old said of the maneuver that entails riding down a massive 90-foot roll-in, spanning a 70-foot gap, then finishing up a 27-ft. tall quarter pipe.
Video can be reviewed at ESPN.com/action/bmx/index.
He placed fifth in the BMX Big Air mega-ramp event.
He accomplished it with a ligament tear in his right knee, an injury suffered in Germany.
After finishes of 16th in BMX Dirt and 27th in BMX Park at the Dew Tour’s Nike 6.0 BMX Open in Chicago in June, Napolitan competed in The Worlds in Cologne.
“It’s really big,” he said. “The last time it was held was five years ago.”
He also said it’s important because each discipline crowns a world champion and the achievement goes down in the IBMXFS record book.
“That’s the committee that deals with the Olympics,” said Napolitan, who won the World Dirt title.
On the heels of BMX’s (track racing) inclusion in the Beijing Olympics, there are rumors that another discipline will be added for 2012.
“Maybe more [BMX] disciplines will be in the Olympics and being recognized as a world champion goes a long way toward an invitation by the committee,” said Napolitan, who returned to his base in State College, Pa. for a week, then went to Munich. That’s where he tore an MCL after bailing out on a jump.
Just days after Munich, Napolitan flew to L.A. and was examined by a doctor in San Diego.
“An MRI showed that it was a little tear, but I was told it was OK to ride in the X Games,” he said.
The stability of Napolitan’s knee isn’t 100 percent, so it puts a crimp on the success he’s had through mid-summer.
“I was definitely riding good before I got hurt, but I’d call it a minor setback that’s getting better,” he said.
Napolitan’s next competition is the Dew Tour’s Wendy’s Invitational in Portland, Ore., Thursday through Sunday.
He said it’s hard to gauge his chances for a top-five finish.
“The knee was OK for the X Games because it’s such a big ramp that you only need a couple tricks for it,” said Napolitan. “For Dew, you need a bunch of tricks and they have to be difficult and not be repetitive.
“Some tricks make your knees hurt, so it’s hard to find those that don’t. Tricks I’d like to do, I might not be able to do because of my knee.”
In Portland, Anthony will be joined by his 18-year-old brother, Ronnie.
At the Nike 6.0 BMX Open, Ronnie finished 23rd in Dirt.
This is Ronnie Napolitan’s first year full-time. He is home schooled.
“I’m super excited for him and pretty proud, too,” Anthony said. “I believe we’re the only brothers on tour.”
Ronnie is one of a handful of riders who is still in high school. Anthony said that the youngest rider is 14-year-old BMX Park competitor Brett Banasiewicz.
“Despite their age, they’re with the main guys so they’re not different,” said Anthony.
“It’s not too tough for them because we’re all friends and they’re good enough to ride on the same level as us.”
bassetti@vindy.com