Keegan Palmer victorious as Tom Schaar seizes the moment in a men’s park final epic at Olympic Qualifier Series Budapest
Needing to finish in the top two to keep his Paris dream alive, US skater Schaar delivered when it counted to the delight of the packed-out crowd and fellow skaters alike.
Skateboarding
Tom Schaar had not attempted his final run, yet the celebrations had already started.
The US park skateboarder had entered the men’s final at the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) Budapest with one job and one only: finish higher than third place.
In doing so, he would overtake Jagger Eaton in the Olympic World Skate Rankings, be among the top three skaters from the US, and secure an NOC quota spot* for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
It was a tall order. In a heat stacked with the best in park skateboarding pushing each other at every inch, wheel and turn placing it would require the very best of Schaar. Having had a mixed set of results across the road to Paris 2024, under the baking Hungarian sun, Schaar needed to give everything.
And everything he gave.
Just as he had done in the previous contest stages, the vert history-maker stormed his opener to climb straight to the top of the order with a cool 93.48.
In his second run attempt, Schaar threw in upgrades to see his score rise to 94.46. It had looked unsurpassable until Olympic champion Keegan Palmer responded with a 94.94.
It was then, for Schaar, a matter of waiting. The field came and went, and no one challenged his score. When Tate Carew took his turn - as the last skater before Schaar and Palmer - the pause as the judges deliberated on his final run seemed to last a lifetime.
When 92.65 flashed onto the screen a mass huddle followed. Shouting for their friend, the field jumped on Schaar celebrating the moment knowing that he had done enough to obtain the quota. The skater who had his qualification quest for Tokyo painfully cut short at the final Olympic qualifier before Japan was not to be denied a second time.
“Somehow it worked out,” a calm Schaar said after. “I was doing the math last night forever trying to figure out what it would take and finally I was like, ‘Well… I have to get first or second pretty much'."
He continued: “I was trying to pretend this was like any other contest. It’s just skating. We’ve all been doing this for so long, and we’re all just a big group of friends. There’s no like crazy rivalries or anything weird like that. We’re all just having fun. I’m standing up on that podium with my best friends. It’s so sick.”
Winner Palmer, Schaar’s loudest supporter in the huddle, shared how much it meant to see the US skater - and friend - through.
“The last Olympics when he was qualifying, he got bumped out of the very last contest. I felt so bad. And I’m so happy for him to be able to come and skate, represent his country and be able to skate with us. We all skate on a daily basis, so it’s just an amazing feeling.”
Rounding off the podium in third place was OQS Shanghai winner Carew (92.65) who edged out US world champion Gavin Bottger by 0.55 points.
Augusto Akio of Brazil, Kieran Woolley, Viktor Solmunde and Vincent Matheron finished in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.
*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
Olympic Qualifier Series Budapest: Men's park final results
Best run score of three attempts.
- Keegan Palmer (AUS) - 94.94
- Tom Schaar (USA) - 94.46
- Tate Carew (USA) - 92.65
- Gavin Bottger (USA) - 92.10
- Augusto Akio (BRA) - 90.48
- Kieran Woolley (AUS) - 89.16
- Viktor Solmunde (DEN) - 87.76
- Vincent Matheron (FRA) - 82.02