After shattering records, Jerry and handler Michael Wallace met Gov. Pataki.

Lake Placid, N.Y. — Chalk one up for the mixed-breeds. Jerry, half English pointer, half Chesapeake retriever, soared to pure gold before a huge crowd in ESPN's Great Outdoor Games on Saturday.

Owned by Rod Michael and handled by Mike Wallace, Jerry set two new world records on his way to the gold medal, out-distancing the silver medalist Sosa, owned by Nick Fiacco, by over five feet.

Going into Saturday's competition, Wallace just wanted to get Jerry off to a good start. "I was worried about that first jump, I'm just glad it's over," Wallace said of Jerry's first world record jump of 22 feet, 10 inches. Taking over the lead by a large margin in the competition, Wallace chose to pass on his two remaining jumps in the first round, easily advancing to the second round, along with five other dogs.

After watching the 2000 Big Air competition last summer, Wallace and Michael had a feeling Jerry could do well this year. "Jerry loves to chase after rocks, that's what really gets him going," said Wallace. "Even when I throw them off the dock, he won't give up."

	Tank soars in the Big Air event.

To get Jerry to explode off the 40-foot long dock, Wallace first shows him a rock, then substitutes it for a soft plastic bumper for the throw into Mirror Lake.

In the second round, on just his second jump of the day, Jerry bested his previous jump by three inches, setting his second and current world record of 23 feet, 1 inch, moving him safely into the final round of three dogs.

Heidi, last year's gold medal winner and previous record holder with a distance of 22 feet, 4 inches failed to reach this year's finals. "It's a little disappointing not making the finals this year, but I can't ask anymore from an eight and a half year old — she's my buddy," said Beth Gutteridge.

Advancing to the final round along with Jerry was Saranac Lake's Nick Fiacco and his Labrador retriever, Sosa, and Tucker, owned by Tom Dropik from Prior Lake, Minnesota. Both Sosa and Tucker had trouble with their take-offs in the final round, leaving well before the end of the dock. Since jumps are measure from the end of the dock and not from the dog's take off point, jumping early cost each dog as much as three feet. Tucker's best final round jump of 16 feet, 9 inches earned him a bronze, while Sosa's final round jump of 17 feet, 10 inches was good enough for silver.

	Phelps fell well short of the gold-medal mark of 23 feet, 1 inch.

Jerry had no such trouble. His first jump in the finals measured 21 feet, 5 inches. While this was his shortest of the day, it was good enough to take gold in the 2001 GO Games. With the gold medal assured, Wallace and Jerry gave it a go one more time for the crowd with a jump of 23 feet, 1 inch, tying their own record-setting jump from the second round.

The gold medal won't change things for Jerry, though.

"We're just going to go home and throw more rocks in the bushes," said Wallace.