A 16-year-old Alaska Native who spent three years in training for the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics walked away with the gold medal in the ear-weight pull on Saturday.

Dennis Frankson, from the village of Point Hope, competed in the WEIO for the first time. In a test of endurance and strength, he thrilled the crowd by walking for 1,500-feet with 16 pounds of metal weights hanging from his ear.

Another Point Hope resident, Jesse Frankson, won the gold in the one-foot high kick with a world record 9 feet, 8 inches. He broke a previous record he shared with another competitor.

The WEIO, in its 43rd year, was held in Fairbanks.

Get the Story:
Rookie thrills WEIO crowd (The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 7/25)
Record kicked to the curb (The Anchorage Daily News 7/26)
WEIO: An athletic throwback (The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 7/25)
Fur, cloth, skin and family ties go into Native regalia (The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 7/24)

Relevant Links:
World Eskimo-Indian Olympics - http://www.weio.org

Related Stories:
Women compete for Miss World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (7/22)