Two Japanese athletes win first-ever Olympic skateboarding gold medals in history

July 26, 2021

Two Japanese skaters became the first-ever Olympic gold medalists for skateboarding during the sport’s debut at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in the Tokyo Games over the weekend.

First skateboarding men’s street gold: Yuto Horigome, 22, won his historic medal over silver medalist Kelvin Hoefler (Brazil) and bronze winner Jagger Eaton (U.S.), reported ESPN.

Each skater had a pair of 45-second runs going through an obstacle course of rails, benches and ramps during the event.
Horigome, the only finalist to score nines in all of the counted tricks, secured the win by consistently landing his tricks down a 12-step, three-rail staircase.
His highest-scoring stunt involved a trick called a nollie 270 noseslide, earning a 9.5 score by flipping the board from under him upon takeoff and sliding it down a jagged rail on its nose.
After his victory, Horigome told the press that practicing in the streets made him an Olympic champion.
Horigome, who started skateboarding at 7 years old in a park not far from the current Olympic venue, said he is on a mission to show “how skateboarding is fun.”

First skateboarding women’s street gold: Momiji Nishiya, 13, not only bagged the inaugural women’s skateboarding gold medal, but she also became the second-youngest champion (after U.S.’ Marjorie Gestring in 1936) in summer Olympics history, reported The Guardian.

Nishiya finished with a score of 15.26, putting her ahead over silver medalist Rayssa Leal (Brazil), another 13-year-old, who scored 14.64.
Another Japanese skater, 16-year-old Funa Nakayama, completed the youngest podium in Olympic history by scoring 14.49 to take the bronze medal.
“I didn’t think I could win, but everyone around me cheered me on, so I’m glad I was able to find my groove,” Nishiya was quoted as saying after the event.

Twitter reactions to skateboarding event: The newly added Olympic sport sparked some debate on social media.

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Featured image via beIN Sports Asia (left) and (right)

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