Olympic champion Nishiya Momiji wins her first X Games skateboard street gold medal

The Olympic women's street skateboarding champion Nishiya Momiji threw down the gauntlet on her first run on Sunday (24 July) to claim her first X Games gold medal. 

The 14-year-old Momiji upgraded the silver medal she won at the 2019 X Games, highlighting her pedigree as the leading female street skateboarder. 

The inaugural women's street skateboarding champion of the Olympic Games shared the podium with Australian tween Chloe Covell and compatriot Yumeka Oda. The 12-year-old Covell continues her meteoric rise, adding the silver to the bronze medal she won at the X Games in Chiba, Japan.

Newly minted world champion Funa Nakayama of Japan had to be content with fifth place, with Olympic silver medallist Rayssa Leal of Brazil finishing fourth. 

Momiji made a welcome return to the top of the podium after she pulled out of the first X Games held in Japan in April. She also had to be content with the silver medal at the World Skate Street Skateboarding in Rome, where Japan swept the podium. Nakayama was crowned champion, with Oda finishing third. 

Covell, the youngest competitor at the X Games, is getting closer to a major international victory after her silver-medal performance. She finished in a creditable seventh place at the World Skate Street Skateboarding.