Timber events were center stage on Thursday as the first medals of the 2002 ESPN Great Outdoor Games were awarded in Hot Saw and Springboard.

In the Hot Saw competition, Mike Sullivan of Winstead, Conn., claimed the gold medal by defeating Canadian Gaston Duperre by 1.56 seconds. Legendary Timber athlete Mel Lentz of Dianna, W.Va., claimed the bronze, defeating Portsville, N.Y.'s Jerry Scutt by more than five seconds.

"Normally I don't spend a lot of time practicing for Hot Saw, but this year I took a different approach," said Sullivan, who had never finished higher than seventh in his previous Great Outdoor Games appearances.

The Hot Saw competition, which sees athletes cut three discs through a 20-inch log utilizing high-performance saws — generally made from motorcycle or snowmobile engines and burning jet or other high-octane fuels — had some extra excitement.

Rules for the event state that a competitor must cut three complete discs or he is assessed a 15-second penalty. The penalty was always considered to be a death blow in the competition — until today. Both Scutt and Warrick Hallet failed to complete the assigned number of cuts in their quarterfinal match.

Scutt attempted to complete a third disc, but only managed a few partial discs and was assessed the penalty, finishing with 29.36 seconds. When Hallet realized Scutt had not completed his three cuts, he restarted his saw and completed a third disc, but finished with an official time of 40.94.

As a result of Scutt winning without completing the three discs, sport officials decided to triple the penalty to 45 seconds for next year's event.

"It's a goofy situation," Hallett said. "If I'd have walked away from it, I'd have been fine, not knowing that he had made a mistake. If it was any other competition in America, or the world, I'd have been in."

Australian Mitch Hewitt claimed the gold in the springboard competition by advancing through the bracket and defeating silver medalist Jason Wynyard of New Zealand by nine seconds. David Bolstad, also from New Zealand, earned the bronze by edging Pittsford, N.Y., athlete Dave Jewett by eight seconds.

Thanks to the efforts of Wynard and Bolstad, New Zealand and the United States share the overall lead in the medal count with two. Australia and Connecticut are tied for the most gold medals with one each.

Springboard has 16 participants, each attempting to severe a 12-inch block from the top of a 9-foot pole. The event is a head-to-head race, with the competitors ascending the pole by chopping a series of notches into which boards are placed. The first competitor to sever his block advances.

Friday will see the competition really heat up in Lake Placid, as medals will be awarded in six events including Men's and Women's Boom Run, Mixed Doubles Boom Run, Fly Fishing, Archery and Shotgun. Additionally, fans will be able to watch the qualifying weigh-in for the bass fishing competition as well as the first rounds of the Large and Small Dog Agility competitions and the Men's and Women's Endurance events.

Four competitors in this year's Games were watching Wednesday night's ESPY Awards with personal interest. Timber athlete Lentz, Big Air Dog competitor Jerry and Bass Fishing contenders Kevin VanDam and Rick Clunn all were finalists for the initial ESPY for Best Outdoor Sports Athlete. VanDam, who claimed the award, and Clunn both attended the ceremony in Los Angeles, then boarded an early-morning flight to arrive in Lake Placid in time for Friday's preliminary round.

"The ESPY Awards were awesome. The coolest part of the whole thing was having John Madden hand me the award," said VanDam, shortly after receiving the award during the nationally televised broadcast. "It is unbelievable to think I would even be here, but to be the first time and the first winner is amazing."

Medal count

Nation --- Gold-Silver-Bronze-Total

New Zealand ---- 0-1-1-2
United States ---- 1-0-1-2
Australia --------- 1-0-0-1
Canada ----------- 0-1-0-1

State ----- Gold-Silver-Bronze-Total

Connecticut ------ 1-0-0-1
West Virginia ----- 0-0-1-1