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
