CELEBRATION, Fla. The crowd was behind Melody Jones as she raised an axe over her head with two hands, preparing to throw it for a million dollars. If she hit the target, the money was in the bank.
Her feet were planted firmly on the ground one in front of the other. She leaned forward and released the axe. It spun towards the target, while she hoped it would hit a white dowel in the bull's-eye. But it wasn't Jones' lucky day. The axe fell to the ground without making contact. The chance of winning one million big ones fell to the saw-dusted stage along with the axe.
Jones was randomly selected from an online sweepstakes to come to Orlando from Spanaway, Wash., for the axe throw. She decided to enter even though she had never swung an axe before.
Before Jones launched the axe 23 feet to the target, a lot was running through her mind. "I was both excited and nervous thinking about it," she said. "I kept saying, 'just let me hit it.'"
Jones had one chance to practice her technique before putting it all on the line to be axed. She also watched a few of the lumberjacks take aim at the target to check out their techniques.
"I was trying to watch them all to figure out how I should throw it," Jones said. "Some of them throw by their right ear and I thought, 'wow, that's really dangerous.'"
Besides a four-day vacation in Orlando, Jones will take home a quick-start chainsaw from STIHL, as well as the field axe she threw at the target.
The Games will be aired on ESPN and ABC Sports July 13-17, 2005. Click here for the broadcast schedule.
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