Monday, July 26th 2021
Teenagers dominate skateboarding
The whole podium is 42 years old – together
At the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, medals can be skated for the first time. The only 13-year-old Japanese woman Momiji Nishiya is making history and is the first to win a gold medal in this sport. However, she cannot break any other record.
The entire podium for women skateboarders at their Olympic premiere is only 42 years old – all in all! The only 13-year-old Japanese woman Momiji Nishiya became the first ever Olympic skateboarding champion, followed by the 13-year-old Brazilian Rayssa Leal in second place. Funa Nakayama, also from Japan, landed at the age of 16 as “old master” on the bronze rank.
“I didn’t think I could win,” said Nishiya. “I’m glad I was able to find my groove. I made up my mind not to give up.” The impressive flight performances of the vice world champion were rewarded with 15.26 points by the judges.
In an exciting exchange of blows, Leal (14.64 points) narrowly missed out on becoming the youngest Olympic champion in the history of the Summer Games. At 13 years and 116 days, she would have replaced US diver Marjorie Gestring, who won gold in Berlin in 1936 at the age of 13 years and 269 days. At 13 years and 330 days, Nishiya is only slightly older than the previous record holder.
There were initially two races, with the 20-year-old Dutchwoman Roos Zwetsloot leading the way in the final as the only European. Then the athletes each showed five individual tricks, in which Nishiya triumphed. In the end, a total of four performances were included in the overall ranking. The judges assessed the difficulty, speed, originality and execution as well as the composition of the runs.
Meanwhile, the skate park at the harbor basin of Tokyo is becoming a Japanese fortress, and Yuto Horigome won the men’s street final on Sunday. The park competitions will continue in the second week of the Olympics. 14-year-old Lilly Stoephasius is the youngest German Olympic participant, just like Tyler Edtmayer. In the street category, no German athlete was able to buy the Tokyo ticket.
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