2007: The Year In Action Sports

Dec 22 2007 / Los Angeles, CA

Across the board it was an amazing year for action sports. From skateboarding to BMX, Snowboarding to Wakeboarding, Surfing to FMX there were amazing tales to tell. It's not possible to cover the whole year succinctly, so we're taking another approach. Below you'll find our list of the top ten stories of 2007, followed by a list of the most-popular stories on Lat34. Then for good measure we're telling the story of the year in 100 photo. Between the two, we've covered a lot, but no doubt some things will be missed. If you have an opinion, let us know -- we'll post some of the comments in our Quick Hits Blog.

The Best Of 2007Photo Gallery    Check out the photos from 2007 that we thought were the best.  View Gallery>

1. Jake Brown -- Jake Brown probably didn't know it when he woke up the morning of August 3rd that his life was going to change before the day was over. One 45-foot fall after making a jump during the Big Air finals later and Brown was a worldwide celebrity, if not a hero. Talk shows couldn't get enough of him, his crash received airplay everywhere and most amazingly was how he walked off after it. Sure, he received some massive internal injuries and it would be months before he would even step on a skateboard again, but for a time, Jake Brown was the man. Oh, and the 720 he did over the gap was insane and he deserved the gold medal. But silver it was.

2. Australians Rule the World (of Surfing) -- 2007 was absolutely the year of the Aussies when it came to surfing. First off, while Layne Beachley has held court at the top of the women's world tour for years, it has been a decade since an Aussie has topped the Men's World Tour rankings. Well, Mick Fanning put a stop to that this year as the Australians dominated the tour. six of ten events were won by Aussies and five of the top-ten surfers were also from Down Under. On the women's side, Stephanie Gilmore was the first rookie ever to win a world title thanks to four wins on tour (Aussies won six out of eight tour stops). Lastly, a full seven our of the top-ten women surfers were Australian. It's certainly a new world order...

3. Ryan Sheckler -- Yes, Ryan Sheckler was pretty well-known before 2007, but his popularity skyrocketed after he got his own MTV reality show, leading to hundred (okay, THOUSANDS) of screaming young girls chasing after him everywhere he went. Or were those MTV cameras? Through it all, he fought ahead and had his most successful year ever as a skateboarder, winning every stop of the AST Dew Tour, taking X Gold and every other contest he entered a pretty good year competitively, though his well-documented claim that he would win all five Dew Tour stops went unfullfilled. What will 2008 hold for him? Well, his show returns in January so we'll find out soon enough.

4. Stephen Murray & Tara Llanes -- The world of action sports was rocked in June when during the BMX Dirt finals at the Panasonic Open, the first stop of the AST Dew Tour, Stephen Murray was badly injured after bailing out of a double backflip. Murray was paralyzed from the neck down as a result and fans, sponsors and fellow athletes poured financial support to Murray's Recovery Fund. In December Murray left Craig Hospital in Denver to return to California where his recover continues.

Unfortunately, soon after Murray's accident, mountain biker Tara Llanes suffered a terrible accident while competing in a Jeep King of the Hill contest. She was paralyzed from the waist down and was also treated in Craig Hospital in Denver at the same time as Murray. Llanes handled the accident with courage, and via her MySpace Page was communicating with fans starting the day of the accident... Her blog entries have been incredibly insightful and touching, and both her and and Murray have utilized the Internet as never been done before by athletes in similar situations.

5. The Luckiest Man Alive: Shaun White -- Hmmm... wouldn't that be Ryan Sheckler? Actually, no. If "Life of Ryan" taught us anything it's that Ryan's life ain't perfect. But Shaun's... Let's see: Considered by many to be the world's top snowboarder and winner of just about every contest imaginable, plus very, very rich thanks to winning the Burton Global Open Series and the TTR title, as well as being signed up by AMEX for commercials. Sounds good. Then add the fact that he dominated the Skate Vert scene this summer and basically schooled everyone as to what was possible... Man -- even when this guy gets arrested it's fun. All this and he just turned 21.

6. The Dew Tour Comes of Age -- In its third-year the AST Dew Tour has really found its stride. In 2007 the tour changed its name for three of its tour stops and while the weather played hell at those three new stops, everything else appeared to be getting better and better. Of course, most of it had to do with the quality of athletes and the progression of the sport, but the AST knows how to put on some good events and it offers a good set of events. While TV ratings may not be through the roof, and changes are always on the horizon, the crowds appeared be bigger, more excited and the athletes certainly responded in kind.

7. BMX is Crazy (Good) -- Of all the actioon sports, one is progressing faster than all the others... combined. This year saw more new tricks thrown down in competition than perhaps any in the past and the list of innovators included names like Cameron White, Ryan Guettler, Mike Spinner and Scotty Cranmer. What was the biggest and best? Hard to say. Spinner's 1080 was incredible, but so was White's Backflip Barspin Whip. And though Spinner knocked out the 1080 first, Ryan Guettler was close behind. It's fun to debate, but even more fun to watch.

8. Shane Cross -- The world lost a great up-and-coming talent when Shane Cross, 20, was killed in motorcycle accident in March in Australia. Also injured in the same accident was another amazing skateboarder, Ali Boulala, who has had a very long road to recovery. The skateboard world lost former pro Ben Pappas, 29, about a week later (also in Australia) to an apparent suicide. Brother of pro Tas Pappas, Ben Pappas died a fugitive after the murder of his girlfriend.

9. Twitch is Back - A year after a devestating accident knocked Twitch (aka Jeremy Stenberg) out of commission, the FMX master was back and ready to take on all comers. Of course, his return wasn't completely smooth -- he failed to qualify for the finals at his first competition back -- but by mid- year he had gotten his groove back, culminating with a first-place finish at the LG Action Sports Championships in September. Sure, Nate Adams may have won more events and Adam Jones may have taken X Games gold, but Twitch is a true original in the world of FMX and the sport wasn't the same with him on the sidelines.

10. Torah, Torah, Torah - It may seem like a long, long time ago, but Torah Bright was absolutely lights out for most of the snowboarding season ending in 2007. She knocked out wins at Winter X and the Nippon Open and placed at most other events, including a second and third-place finish at the US Open. All that meant she was named both the 2007 TTR World Snowboard Champion and 2007 Burton Global Open Series Champion. Not bad if you're name's not Shaun White.

Reader's Choice:

Here are the top five stories in order of popularity on Lat34 for the year...

1. Top Five Tricks and Slams in X Games History - The Slams
2. Ryan Sheckler - Can Skateboarding's Big Dog Rule the Dew Tour
3. Nyjah Huston - Skateboardings Next Big Thing
4. Summer of Slams
5. Has MTV Hurt Ryan Sheckler