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Hometown Skater Hopes To Win Tampa Pro

Photo courtesy of SPoT

Furlong's highest overall finish was second place in the vert competition in 2004.

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By NICK WILLIAMS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 20, 2009

TAMPA - For Anthony Furlong, hopefully the eighth time is the charm.

Furlong, a professional skateboarder and Gaither High graduate, is one of the many pro skaters in town for this weekend's Tampa Pro at the Skatepark of Tampa.

Skateboarders compete in best trick, vert ramp (half-pipe) and street course categories. The purse of the competition is $100,000, with first-place finishers taking home as much as $30,000.

Furlong's highest overall finish was second place in the vert competition in 2004. He will compete in vert again this weekend.

"I think I've gotten every place but first," he said. "Second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth."

Furlong, who is sponsored by the Skatepark of Tampa, just one of his many sponsors, missed the competition last year because of a knee injury. He's skated at SPoT the last 11 years.

Pro skaters Eric Koston (2002, 2007 Tampa Pro street course winner), Ryan Sheckler, of MTV's Life with Ryan, Tim O'Connor and Clearwater native Jeff Lenoce are also expected to participate. The event begins today and continues through Sunday's finals.

"I skate with these guys every year all over the world," Furlong said. "It's fun for me. I'll see some old friends (from Tampa) and some random people I haven't seen in a while."

Schedule:
Today: Preliminaries, qualifying rounds; Noon.-5 p.m.
Saturday: Semifinal; 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sunday: Finals, Noon – 6p.m.
Tickets are $15 each day.

SPoT is located at 4215 East Columbus Drive in Tampa.

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