'It can be done. Can it be repeated?' Eaton's podium double offers Paris pointer 

SHANGHAI - The USA’s Jagger Eaton has come through with a pair of statement performances at the Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai, claiming victory in Skateboarding Men's Street and following up with third place in the Park competition just a few hours later.

The only skateboarder looking to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in both street and park, Eaton essentially locked in those Olympic spots in Shanghai, while furthering his status as one of the sport's most formidable ‘all-terrain vehicles’ in the process.

Eaton opened his super Sunday in the street competition by earning a 92.55 for the best score in the runs portion of the event, before landing a 93.13-scoring switch backside noseblunt slide followed by a 92.60-point backside 180 kickflip nose grind in the tricks half of the competition.

Added together that was a score of 278.28 to clinch the street victory.

Little more than three hours later, Eaton was once again standing on the OQS Shanghai podium after claiming third place in the park competition, his score of 91.61 putting him just 1.72 points off the mark set by his US teammate and winner Tate Carew.

Eaton’s two-podium performance on Sunday served to show his dream of a two-medal haul at Paris 2024 is not far-fetched - though the 23-year-old acknowledged it wouldn’t be until the next OQS competition in Budapest in June that he would know how sustainable such an intense competition schedule will be.

“I definitely proved that it can be done, but the question is, can it be repeated?” Jagger said after the park awards ceremony.

“I’m very optimistic. My skating feels unbelievable. I feel like if I did a bit of recovery right now I could go skate street for the rest of the day, or go play some golf.

“It’s such a weight lifted off my shoulders, knowing that I can handle this level of contest for five days in a row. I walked in here not knowing if I could, I stayed the course even when I felt like I couldn’t do it, and I’m just grateful.

“Now we’re gonna go back to the drawing board, then go to Budapest and get two Ws (wins).”

Carew’s victory in the men’s park competition was the first major win of his career, and the 19-year-old shoul join his US teammates Eaton and Gavin Bottger in the top-three of the World Skate men’s park rankings once the list is updated following Shanghai.

Australia's Arisa Trew and Brazil's Rayssa Leal take the women's honours

Leading things off on Sunday at the Shanghai Urban Park was the women’s skateboard park competition, in which Australia’s Arisa Trew earned her first career World Skate victory.

The reigning X Games gold medallist in vert and park, 14-year-old Trew clocked a score of 91.16 to best a pair Japanese heavyweights and Olympic medallists in Hiraki Kokona and Yosozumi Sakura, who finished second and third respectively.

Skateboard action at the OQS Shanghai finished with the women’s street, in which Brazil’s Rayssa Leal stepped up to claim her first World Skate victory since the 2022 World Championships in Sharjah, UAE.

Putting together a combined score of 274.89 for her best run and two best tricks, Leal was able to hold off a late charge from Japan’s Liz Akama (274.35).

Dropping in for her last trick after Leal had already wrapped up, Akama landed a near-perfect frontside feeble grind frontside 180 out, earning herself a score of 91.69 for the trick.

Combined with her best run score and her previous best trick score, the Japanese skater would fall an agonising 0.54 points short of Leal’s mark.

OIS cb/tb/lcm