Minnesota's Jamie Fischer adds Boom Running gold to growing medal collection

RENO, Nev. — Winning the Men's Log Rolling gold medal at the 2003 ESPN Great Outdoor Games made Minnesota's Jamie Fischer smile. Taking a second gold in Men's Boom Run means he may not stop smiling for weeks.

For the second straight day, Fischer got the better of Hayward, Wis., native J.R. Salzman, winning the Men's Boom Run Sunday at the Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

On Friday, Fischer won gold after Salzman foot-faulted in the Log Rolling competition, giving Fischer the crucial deciding point of the match. Saturday saw Fischer defend his 2002 gold medal by a narrow margin.

"Especially after the log rolling yesterday, I'm as high as a kite right now," Fischer said. "This has been the best time of my life. There hasn't been one down moment since I got here."

In Boom Run, two competitors sprint across a pond and back on eight logs laid end to end, all while the waves cause the logs to roll and bounce. Fischer raced across the spinning logs in 13.132 seconds, only a fraction faster than Salzman's 13.327.

Fred Scheer, also of Hayward, outran his son, Cassidy, to take home the bronze medal, gaining a measure of revenge from last year, when Cassidy beat his dad for a bronze.

Women's Boom Run: Wisconsin's Abbie Hoeschler stays dry, takes gold

One wrong step in the 2003 ESPN Great Outdoor Games Boom Run is all it takes to bring a fast run to a splashy ending.

Fortunately for Abbie Hoeschler of La Crosse, Wis., being the smallest competitor in the field helped her avoid that misstep as she collected the gold medal in the Women's Boom Run Sunday at the Games presented by Dodge.

Hoeschler was one of the few athletes in the women's competition to make it across the eight logs and back without falling off, easing the disappointment of a first-round log-rolling defeat Saturday at the hands of eventual gold medalist Tina Bosworth of Lake Geneva, Wis.

"Actually, being light does give you an advantage (in boom running), but it's a disadvantage in log rolling, so it evens out," Hoeschler said. "I always try to look two logs ahead and stay really steady."

The same approach also carried silver medalist Taylor Duffy of Hayward, Wis., into the finals.

In the final round, however, Duffy was side-by-side with Hoeschler when she slipped, three logs away from the finish line.

Jenny Atkinson of Grand Marais, Minn., outran Wisconsin's Shana Martin, last year's silver medalist, to win the bronze medal.

Large Dog Agility: Ransom wins gold with fast, flawless performance

Ransom, a lightning-quick, 3-year-old female border collie, and her owner, Sherry Kluever of Romeoville, Ill., put together a flawless run to take the gold medal in the Large Dog division of the Agility competition Sunday at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

It was Ransom's second medal of the Outdoor Games. She also took silver in Friday's Superweave competition, marking a strong start in the team's first outing at the Games.

"It really hasn't sunk in yet," said Kluever, a business manager for a small financial company in Chicago. "I never expected this. I figured she'd hold her own here, but this is beyond anything I could dream of."

The Great Outdoor Games Agility competition is a series of bracketed races, in which dogs, coached by their handlers, negotiate a course that includes jumps, blind runs through chutes, and a number of other obstacles.

Ransom negotiated the obstacle course of the standard and speed rounds with no course or time faults. Of the other 15 teams in the field, only Static, with Jen Pinder from Lapeer, Mich., managed to match that. Static took the silver medal, finishing the final race slightly more than three seconds behind Ransom and Kluever.

Spring, handled by Julie Daniels of North Sandwich, N.H., took the bronze medal, beating California teen-ager Kate Moureaux and her dog Quick by nearly eight seconds in the consolation round.

Small Dog Agility: Miniature schnauzer posts giant win

Kimie, a 6-year-old miniature schnauzer, and her owner, Christine Frank of Chesterfield Township, Mich., took the gold medal Sunday in the Small Dogs division of the Agility trials at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge.

"There aren't a whole lot of miniature schnauzers competing in the sport," Frank said. "It's a sport dominated by Shetland sheepdogs, but I knew Kimie's accuracy was her strong point. We concentrated on that, and that was what did it."

The Great Outdoor Games Agility competition is a series of bracketed races, in which dogs, coached by their handlers, negotiate a course that includes jumps, blind runs through chutes, and a number of other obstacles. Kimie was the only dog in the eight-team field to negotiate the obstacle course without any course faults. The tricky course set-up was troublesome for all the other dogs.

"These were very tough courses, but I knew she could do them without making mistakes," Frank said. "To win it with such a small dog is terrific."

Frank now has competed in all four Great Outdoor Games, but this was her first medal. Her highest prior finish was fourth in the 2000 Great Outdoor Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. The 51-year-old teacher said the wait for the gold was worth it.

"I'm just thrilled that we could compete so well in such a talented field," she said.

Sizzle, a Shetland sheepdog owned by Karen Holik of West Chicago, Ill., took the silver medal. And DeCaff, a Jack Russell-border collie mix owned by Susan Garrett of Alberton, Canada, earned the bronze.

Top outdoor athletes from around the world compete for entry into the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, held in Reno-Tahoe July 10-13. The ultimate championship of outdoor sports features one-of-a-kind, head-to-head competition in timber and target events, sporting dogs, and fishing. While entertaining large crowds on site, the ESPN Great Outdoor Games also draws a worldwide television audience airing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports beginning 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 PT July 19.