With one trick left to perform, Japan’s Yuto Horigome had to pull something special out of the bag to retain the men’s street skateboarding title he won in Tokyo. He lay fourth after the two opening runs of the final and then led following the first of his five tricks. Falling in his next three, however, meant he was a long way back from leaders Nyjah Huston and Jagger Eaton, both from the United States, going into the final stage. The former led until the fourth round of tricks, but Eaton briefly moved into pole position following a nollie 270 slide that earned him a score of 95.25, the best of the day up to that point.
Yuto Horigome: Skateboarding’s First Double Olympic Champion
Horigome, in seventh place, looked like he might miss out on a medal. Then came his fifth and final trick. The Japanese man produced a stunning 270 nollie bluntslide down the 10-stair round rail, which received a score of 97.08 from the judges. That left him with a total of 281.14. Only Eaton and Huston could catch him, but they both fell delivering their final tricks. The 25-year-old skateboarding superstar had done it again, becoming the sport’s first double Olympic champion. Unlike three years ago, though, this victory was in front of a crowd of 5,000 spectators, including legendary rapper Snoop Dogg.
Speaking to NBC, Ryan Sheckler, one of the most influential professional skateboarders of all time, described it as “the gnarliest final of competitive skateboarding that I’ve ever seen.” Horigome agreed. “It was the best event [ever] and the level was probably the highest,” he said after the final through an interpreter. “Nyjah and Jagger, they’re always at the top. I was not really sure whether I could medal. I just did not want to have any regrets.”
Another Triumph for Japan
Horigome’s triumph came less than 24 hours after Coco Yoshizawa won gold in the women’s event. He was asked by a reporter what the key to Japan’s success was. “To reach this far it has been very tough,” he replied. “The skating level in Japan and also in the world has come up so much. And at the highest level, I really had to challenge the limit. I had to believe in myself and that’s probably what worked.”
Japan’s Sora Shirai narrowly missed out on a medal in fourth, while Ginwoo Onodera was knocked out in the qualifying round.
