Olympic Qualifier Series Shanghai Day 1 wrap-up: Nyjah Huston and Olympic champion Alberto Gines progress, Horigome Yuto out
Check out the highlights and key moments from Day 1 of the OQS Shanghai on 16 May, where there was plenty of drama as the sport climbing (bouldering), skateboarding (women's park and men's street) competitions began.
There was magic in the air at the Olympic Qualifier Series Shanghai on Thursday (16 May).
The sun shone down on hundreds of sports fans who packed into the picturesque Huangpu Riverside OQS Urban Park two hours before the main sporting action began.
The concourses were oozing with energy. Young children excitedly queued outside the demonstration areas to give sport climbing, skateboarding and video games a go, while others chased each other on mini BMXs.
Australia's BMX Freestyle Olympic champion Logan Martin and several of the skateboarders even had to be at their skilful best to avoid crashing as they weaved around the crowds between venues.
Feeding off this inspirational atmosphere, Spanish men's sport climbing Olympic champion Alberto Gines and women's silver medallist Nonaka Miho of Japan put on impressive displays to both end the day in third place in their respective bouldering qualifications in front of a packed crowd cheering their every clinch.
They return tomorrow for the lead qualification in a bid to qualify for the semi-finals alongside the likes of multiple world champion Adam Ondra and US star Brooke Raboutou.
In skateboarding women's park, Japanese Olympic silver medallist Hiraki Kokona ended the day comfortably atop of the standings with two mesmerising runs that drew cheers and sharp intakes of breath alike with her daring jumps.
Joining her in the semis on 18 May are Australian 14-year-old Arisa Trew and 13-year-old Hasegawa Mizuho of Japan, who skated with precision to finish second and third respectively.
The final event of the day, skateboarding men's street, saw plenty of drama.
A disappointing first run saw two of the favourites in USA's Nyjah Huston and Japanese reigning Olympic champion Horigome Yuto in danger of missing out on the semi-finals.
Horigome was in 16th - the final qualification spot - when Huston, who was down in 20th, began the final run of the competition.
The California native showed nerves of steel to record a run of 87.34 to take third place overall in qualification, knocking the Olympic gold medallist out of the contest.
Japan's Netsuke Kairi took top spot with a mesmerising second run worth 90.41, while reigning park world champion and Tokyo 2020 street Olympic bronze medallist Jagger Eaton of Team USA took second.
Rounding the day off, the breaking athletes were in training ahead of the start of their competition on 18 May.
For the first time, athletes in BMX freestyle, breaking, skateboarding, and sport climbing will compete together at the same event in a single urban park. Shanghai, People's Republic of China, will host the first of two stops on the OQS. In total, over 150 quota places for Paris 2024 will be secured by athletes following the Series in accordance with the relevant qualification systems.
A total of 464 athletes (including 81 Olympians and 7 Olympic champions) are competing at OQS Shanghai across the four sports, with a 50-50 split between men and women.
The two Olympic Qualifier Series events, in Shanghai and Budapest respectively, will be a celebration of sport and culture, with music, fashion and art combining with sports competition to create a festival experience.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective teams at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at Paris 2024 depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation. Click here to view the qualification system for each sport.
You can watch the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) in Shanghai from 16 to 19 May live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app for mobile devices.
