Momiji Nishiya, 13, breaks two records after winning Olympic gold medal in women’s skateboarding

Momiji Nishiya made history and broke two Olympic records with her gold medal win in skateboarding on July 25.

Record-breaking win: The Osaka-born 13-year-old became the world’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist in women’s skateboarding, according to NBC Olympics.

Nishiya scored 15.26 points and dominated the “best trick” section of the event, reported South China Morning Post.
“I didn’t think I could win, but everyone cheered me on so I’m glad I was able to find my groove,” Nishiya said to the paper.

Young champion: In addition to her historic win, Nishiya also became Japan’s youngest Olympic champion as well as the world’s second-youngest individual gold medalist, according to Hypebae.

The record for the youngest Japanese Olympic gold medalist was previously held by Iwasaki Kyoko, who was 14 when she won the women’s 200-meter breaststroke race at the 1992 Barcelona Games, reported NHK World-Japan.
Marjorie Gestring held the record as the youngest individual gold medalist at 13 years and 268 days old when she placed first in women’s diving at the 1936 Berlin Games.
Nishiya came close to beating the world record at 13 years and 330 days old.

About Nishiya: Her Olympic profile revealed that her older brother inspired her to start skating, and she has since competed all over the world since 2019.

The teenage skateboarder has competed in the X Games, WS SLS World Tour and the Dew Tour in 2019. She competed for the second time in the WS SLS World Tour in 2021.
Her competitions have taken her as far as Los Angeles, Minnesota, London, Rome and Brazil.
Nishiya first started posting skateboarding videos on Instagram in 2015, showing off her skills when she was just 7 years old.

Featured Image via NBC Sports

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