The 2024 Paris Olympics are already off to a thrilling start, and one of the most exciting events so far has been Men’s Street Skateboarding. A jam-packed group was headlined by arguably the greatest competitive skater ever trying to get his groove back, and also included a young American looking to build on a stellar showing in Tokyo, and the eventual champion from Japan. It was a fantastic show from start to finish.
Let’s start with the men’s finals. Among the qualifiers for the finals were Americans Nyjah Huston and Jagger Eaton. Huston is widely known as the greatest skater ever, with 13 X-Games titles and six World Championships gold medals to his name. However, at the first ever skateboarding Olympic games in Tokyo, he failed to medal, finishing seventh. Huston’s climb back was incredibly impressive, and to start the final, Huston was cooking, leading the pack through three tricks.
However, right behind him was Jagger Eaton, from Mesa, Arizona. Eaton finished with the bronze medal in Tokyo, but was back and better in Paris, going trick for trick with Huston, ultimately taking the lead on this superb move.
It was looking like the Americans would podium at one and two, until Japan’s Yuto Horigome pulled out the sickest move I think I’ve ever seen. On the final round of tricks, Horigome needed at least a 96 to move into first place, and nobody had gotten above a 96 in the entire day.
Then Horigome did this:
I mean, HOLY COW. The ability to spin in midair while getting just the tail end of the board on the rail is phenomenal. It left the judges stunned, pulling out a 97.08 to get the gold.
This was an incredible final, guys pulling out tricks that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. For a sport that’s enjoying their second Olympic run, it’s good to have these moments, drawing people in through competition.
Hopefully more people watch as the sport grows.
