KIDS COME TO TOWN
BRIANNA TRAVERS
IT’S probably the daggiest gear they've ever worn – but that’s the price the world’s best skateboarders are willing to pay for Olympic gold.
Combining backwards caps and tatts with official issue slacks and
polos, the skaters made a serious but still spectacular Olympic debut.
Skateboarding was welcomed into the Games as part of an extreme sport bid to lure new fans to the ageing international event.
The men’s street competition didn’t fail to deliver, going down to the wire in an electrifying final that cemented skateboarding’s place next to the more traditional sports.
In what was a fairytale for Japanese officials, hometown hero Yuto Horigome etched his name into the history books as the world’s first skateboarding gold medallist.
In apartment blocks near the stadium, adoring locals locked out of the Games made signs, waved flags and cheered on Horigome (pictured right) from their balconies.
Brazil’s Kelvin Hoefler won silver and USA’s Jagger Eaton snuck in to grab a bronze, beating his teammate rival, current world No.1 Nyjah Huston, who was the event favourite.
Captivating and daring tricks on the course, combined with a warm camaraderie among the athletes, helped audiences warm to the sport.
There are another three gold meals up for grabs at the Games, including the women’s street event on
Monday and the park events for both men and women in August. Street is a course made of stairs, rails and ramps which competitors work through to perform intricate tricks on, whereas park skaters use a dome-shaped structure in the pursuit of getting airborne to showcase their skills.
Skaters usually perform at indoor stadiums, with the scorching 33C heat proving a challenge for some, including Australian Shane O’Neill, who sensationally bombed out yesterday.
The former world champion, 33, said his performance was “not so good”, citing the heat as an impediment to his success.
“I wish I would’ve done better to make the final but it just wasn’t my day here and it’s all good,” O’Neill (pictured below) said.
“I didn’t choose the wisest tricks in this heat. It was a little difficult out there for me.”
He said regardless he was “super proud” to wear the green and gold today and to make his six-year-old daughter proud.
“It’s a different thing, we’ve never competed for countries ever before in skateboarding,” he said.