SANDUSKY - The race for bragging rights to the newest, fastest, and most gravity-defying roller coaster on earth hit a fever pitch 20 years ago this month with the unveiling of a ride that outdid all that came before.

Towering 205 feet above the ground with a top speed of 72 mph, the Magnum XL-200 opened at Cedar Point on May 6, 1989, as the fastest and tallest roller coaster ever built.

As the first roller coaster to breach the 200-foot threshold, the out-and-back ride with the orange track and triple tunnels would become known as the first "hypercoaster."

The $8 million Magnum was an instant hit for Cedar Point. Theme parks around the world hurried to build record-setting coasters of their own with as many stomach-churning superlatives as could fit on a glossy brochure.

As the coaster race picked up in the 1990s, the Magnum eventually bequeathed its records to new rides with names like the Steel Phantom and Pepsi Max Big One.

Today the Magnum is no longer even the fastest or highest roller coaster at Cedar Point. Yet its many fans say it has aged well.

The ride remains a favorite among casual and devoted riders alike, and is officially Cedar Point's most popular roller coaster, giving about 2 million rides each year, or nearly 40 million since its debut.

Cedar Point opened yesterday for its 140th season.

"A lot of people consider the

Magnum one of the best roller coasters ever built," said Robin Innes, the park's director of public relations. "Even though back in 1978 Gemini was the first Cedar Point roller coaster to be the world's tallest and fastest, the Magnum really kind of put us on the map. It got us national exposure; it got us international exposure."

Scott Short, 33, a native of Dundee, Mich., recalls how anticipation was building for months in Ohio and Michigan before the Magnum opened. People were buzzing not only about the speed and height, but also the ride's 60-degree drop.

"I remember right before the end of the school year, somebody actually drew a 60-degree drop on a chalkboard and said, 'This is it - this is how steep it's gonna be,'•" said Mr. Short, now of Macedonia, Ohio, and the northern Ohio regional representative for American Coaster Enthusiasts.

The Magnum was ranked the third-favorite steel roller coaster in the country in the 23rd annual Amusement Parks and Attractions Survey, released this month by the National Amusement Park Historical Association. (First place went to Millennium Force, a newer Cedar Point ride.)

There is likely no bigger Magnum fan than Jerry Fleming, 38, of Convoy, Ohio. Mr. Fleming, a factory worker, estimated he has climbed into the Magnum about 8,000 times since 1989, and figures he rode it 500 times that first year alone.

"The most I've had in one day on Magnum is 83 times," he said. "It's always been my favorite and it still is today."

In 1992, Mr. Fleming had a colorful tattoo of the Magnum inked onto his right upper arm. Two summers ago, he proposed marriage to his wife, Leslie, while ascending the coaster's first hill.

And he is also among the few coaster insiders who know to refer to the third seat in Magnum's first car as the "ejector seat."

"We call it the ejector seat because it will throw you up out of the car the hardest of any seat," Mr. Fleming explained. "Us coaster enthusiasts love air time - coming up out of our seat - and that's what Magnum is all about."

Despite the harrowing speed and height, the Magnum is not particularly known for separating its riders from their lunch, Mr. Innes contended.

"It's a very smooth ride," he said.

"You don't twist and you don't go upside down, and I think if you're going to have a problem, that's what the cause is."

Island real estate also may play a role in Magnum's ongoing popularity.

Riders receive a beautiful panoramic view of the lake at one moment, and seconds later, plunge toward lapping waves and beach.

"Even to this day with everything they've built, I still consider Magnum the best," Mr. Fleming said.

"They can build them as tall as they want, but they'll never match it."

Contact JC Reindl at:

jreindl@theblade.com

or 419-724-6065.

First Published May 17, 2009, 5:56 p.m.