Olympic Qualifier Series: From Nyjah Huston to Jagger Eaton know the Team USA skateboarders in action
Skateboarding
The Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) 2024 will be a bumper display of multi-sport action and for skateboarders set to compete in the event, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
By the end of the two-part process, kicking off in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China from 16-19 May and concluding in Budapest, Hungary on 20-23 June, the field for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be known with 20 skaters set to obtain a quota spot.
The Olympic qualifying journey so far has been long and testing.
Over the past two years, park and street skaters have been competing in phase one of qualification. That entailed stops across the world, where World Skate Ranking (WSR) points were awarded based on finishing positions. More points were up for grabs at world championship events to raise the intensity. From all competitions only the top four results contributed towards their ranking.
Following the final stop of phase one in Dubai in February this year a cut to the field was made. Only the top 44 eligible skaters were invited to partake in phase two of qualifying: OQS.
Just as with phase one, WSR points will be the ultimate determinant as to who will secure a quota spot for Paris but for the two OQS stops, the ante has been upped.
The points on offer will be worth nearly three times more in Shanghai and Budapest than in the world championships in phase one, meaning no one is safe and everything is to skate for.
But there’s more.
Only three skaters from one National Olympic Committee (NOC) can compete at the Games meaning, for countries where there is depth, the battle will not just be to finish in the top 20. They must also finish in the top three. For the likes of Brazil, Japan, Australia and the United States, where inter-country competition is fiercest, there is an extra layer of intrigue at play.
So, what does this all mean for the skaters of Team USA who will be taking part in OQS?
In the below, Olympics.com runs the rule over each of the skaters that will be hitting the park bowl and street rails and examining the lay of the land ahead of Shanghai.
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.
US Skateboarders at OQS 2024: Men’s Street
The World Skateboarding Ranking is made up of the best four Olympic qualifying results from phase one.
2. Nyjah Huston, 29
WSR Points: 181,726
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2022 - 1st
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2023 - 1st
- World Skateboarding Tour - Lausanne Street 2023 - 1st
- Street World Championship Tokyo 2023 - 7th
12. Jagger Eaton, 23
WSR Points: 67,579
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Street World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 6th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2023 - 6th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Lausanne Street 2023 - 14th
- Street World Championship Tokyo 2023 - 21st
16. Alex Midler, 25
WSR Points: 55,653
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Street World Championships Sharjah 2022 - 14th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2023 - 19th
- Street World Championship Tokyo 2023 - 5th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Dubai Street 2024 - 28th
18. Chris Joslin, 28
WSR Points: 47,099
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2022 - 9th
- Street World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 7th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2023 - 27th
- Street World Championship Tokyo 2023 - 31st
20. Braden Hoban, 22
WSR Points: 39,046
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Street World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 43rd
- World Skateboarding Tour - Lausanne Street 2023 - 11th
- Street World Championship Tokyo 2023 - 8th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Dubai Street 2024 -38th
31. Jake Ilardi, 27
WSR Points - 13,796
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2022 - 16th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Lausanne Street 2023 - 21st
- Street World Championship Tokyo 2023 - 26th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Dubai Street 2024 -15th
US Men’s Street Skateboarding: The stakes
With six American skaters set to compete in the men’s street division at OQS the battle to secure a quota spot as one of the three top US riders will be one of the fiercest going in Shanghai and Budapest.
That Team USA have six challengers is a testament to the country’s legacy in the sport and its reputation as a global powerhouse; getting to represent the home of skateboarding at the Olympics will be an honour none of these six skaters will take for granted.
Sitting number two in the World Skateboarding Rankings heading into OQS, child prodigy and face of modern competitive street skating Nyjah Huston will be the benchmark skaters from the US will have to meet come Shanghai.
Huston’s Tokyo 2020 experience was not as many had anticipated. Widely touted as the favourite for gold, the American unexpectedly buckled under the weight of expectation in the final and finished in seventh place. Speaking to Olympics.com in 2022 at the first Olympic qualifier, Huston revealed that for Paris there would be a shift in his approach.
“The more pressure I put on myself sometimes, the harder it is to go out there and just skate natural and skate like I normally do. Anything I skate lately I’m just trying to have more fun with it and not put so much pressure on myself that I feel the pressure from other people too.”
It is a strategy that has paid dividends for Huston who, despite sitting out for nearly eight months due to an anterior cruciate ligament tear in August 2022, managed to maintain a near-perfect record in phase one qualifying. A seventh place at last year’s World Championship in Tokyo was the only ‘blip’ on his contest record. It’s an impressive resume and sets Huston up well for the OQS but given the points on offer, nothing is yet guaranteed to anyone.
After Huston in the World Skate Ranking then follows a string of US skaters. Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Jagger Eaton leads a pack of four that sit in 12th to 20th.
Eaton, in a league of his own as he bids for Olympic quota spots in both park and street, has experienced, so far, an Olympic qualification campaign unlike any other.
With two World Skate events hosting street and park back-to-back Eaton has at times had double the workload of his peers and the demands on his body have been evident. Speaking to the Olympics.com podcast, Eaton candidly shared his experience of injury and burnout, and how gratitude ultimately helped him through. His OQS journey will be one studied with particular curiosity.
Alex Midler, Chris Joslin and Braden Hoban, in 16th, 18th and 20th respectively, all have an edge which means that none of them should be underestimated as the competition heats up at OQS.
Joslin and Hoban in particular have formidable reputations as street skaters. Using the parks and courses to hone their weapons, some of their best art can be seen in game-changing video parts, which makes them firm favourites among their peers.
Jake Ilardi, ranked 31st, like Joslin and Hoban will have their work cut out as they try to climb up the order but with the points counting for so much across the OQS, the opportunity is there should they be able to seize it.
US Skateboarders at OQS 2024: Women’s Street
The World Skateboarding Ranking is made up of the best four Olympic qualifying results from phase one.
10. Paige Heyn, 16
WSR Points: 77,076
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2022 - 38th
- Street World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 7th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Lausanne Street 2023 - 3rd
- Street World Championship Tokyo 2023 - 16th
20. Mariah Duran, 27
WSR Points: 21,752
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2022 - 21st
- Street World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 12th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2023 - 21st
- Street World Championship Tokyo 2023 - 34th
24. Poe Pinson, 19
WSR points: 15,499
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2022 - 24th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2023 - 11th
- Street World Championship Tokyo 2023 - 22nd
41. Meagan Guy, 25
WSR Points: 5,445
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2022 - 17th
- Street World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 46th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Rome Street 2023 - 26th
- World Skateboarding Tour - Lausanne Street 2023 - 42nd
Paige Heyn celebrates her third place at WST Street Lausanne 2023
US Women’s Street Skateboarding: The stakes
With four US women’s skaters through to the OQS and only three spots per NOC available the race will be on for Paige Heyn, Mariah Duran, Poe Pinson and Meagan Guy as they try to secure a quota spot for Paris 2024.
Heyn, 16, has so far shown herself to be America’s strongest contender in the women’s street field evidenced by her third-place finish at the Lausanne stop in phase one. The Arizonan often set herself apart from the rest of the field for her ability to skate and land switch tricks with only Australia’s Chloe Covell the only other women's street skater to have the skill on lock.
Her rise up the rankings has been one of the key storylines of the past two years.
Tokyo 2020 Olympian Duran is one who certainly has the skill and style to clinch a quota spot: execution under pressure is the thing that has most held her back from delivering consistently.
She, Pinson and Guy, will need to find form when it counts in Shanghai with Japan, Australia and Brazil also all set to raise the bar as they face their own internal battles in their bid to make it to Paris 2024.
Tate Carew performing an allyoop 360 tail grab at WST: Park World Championships in Ostia, Rome.
US Skateboarders at OQS 2024: Men’s Park
The World Skateboarding Ranking is made up of the best three Olympic qualifying results from phase one.
1. Gavin Bottger, 17
WSR Points: 144,565
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results from phase one
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 15th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 5th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 1st
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 2nd
2. Jagger Eaton, 23
WSR Points: 138,606
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results from phase one
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 1st
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 8th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 4th
4. Tate Carew, 19
WSR Points: 118,551
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results from phase one
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 6th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 4th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 3rd
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 6th
7. Tom Schaar, 24
WSR Points - 92,656
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 5th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 2nd
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 14th
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 17th
12. Liam Pace, 23
WSR Points: 53,082
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 7th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 9th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 17th
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 32nd
22. Taylor Nye, 20
WSR Points: 20,924
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 11th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 28th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 37th
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 27th
US Men’s Park Skateboarding: The stakes
If the fight for a quota in men’s street looked tough then the battle for one in men’s park is on a whole other level.
Four US men’s skaters currently find themselves ranked inside the top 10 with three in the top five.
Leading the pack going into Shanghai will be Gavin Bottger.
There were early signs the 17-year-old looked set to surge as far back as the first qualifier in Sharjah, UAE, but a broken wrist suffered during the competition belied his true form.
It wasn’t until October of the same year, at the World Championships, that the teenager was able to show his best and when he did it proved unbeatable with the Californian coming up clutch to win. When he later backed it up with a second place at the last stop of phase one in Dubai earlier this year, it became clear that the top was where Bottger intended to stay.
But the rising star isn’t exactly lacking in company. Hot on his wheels are 2022 world champion and dual Eaton, then fourth-ranked Tate Carew. Just behind them are Tom Schaar and Liam Pace, who occupy seventh and 12th respectively. And who would dare discount Taylor Nye in 22nd?
There is a strong feeling that the US won’t have a problem filling out its allocation of three skaters for Paris such is the depth of its talent but the question of who is as tricky to answer as it is pervasive - not least with Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Cory Juneau failing to even qualify for OQS.
US Skateboarders at OQS 2024: Women’s Park
The World Skateboarding Ranking is made up of the best three Olympic qualifying results from phase one.
6. Minna Stess, 18
WSR Points: 96,384
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results from phase one
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 7th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 19th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 3rd
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 10th
9. Bryce Wettstein, 20
WSR Points: 79,759
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results from phase one
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 5th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 23rd
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 9th
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 7th
12. Ruby Lilley, 17
WSR Points: 51,271
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 17th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 10th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 7th
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 19th
15. Grace Marhoefer, 20
WSR Points: 40,918
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 8th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 25th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 16th
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 23rd
18. Jordyn Barratt, 25
WSR Points: 34,370
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 16th
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 20th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 18th
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 8th
19. Lillian Erickson, 14
WSR Points: 25,875
Top 4 Olympic Qualifying Results
- Park World Championship Sharjah 2022 - 23rd
- World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park 2023 - 26th
- Park World Championship Rome Ostia 2023 - 11th
- World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Park 2024 - 18th
US Women’s Park Skateboarding: The stakes
As with the men’s event, the women’s park competition is similarly brimming with US talent.
All six quotas for the OQS have been filled with Petaluma’s Minna Stess riding out first among the Americans.
The sixth-ranked 18-year-old holds the highest finish among US skaters from phase one after she clinched third at the World Championships in Rome. Once an alternate for Tokyo 2020, Stess doubled down on her Paris dream this cycle and will be hoping to be one of a possible three from the US to claim a quota spot come June.
Also in the top 10 is Tokyo 2020 Olympian Bryce Wettstein who is looking to make two Olympic appearances in two attempts. The 20-year-old’s effervescent personality is reflected in her effortless skate style and the skate park favourite, never too far from her ukelele, will be sure to bring the spirit of skating to the OQS.
Little separates the next four skaters in the rankings: Ruby Lilley, Grace Marhoefer, Olympian Jordyn Barratt and 14-year-old Lillian Erickson.
Lilley, Marhoefer and Barratt have all had experience of a phase one final, showing that each one has the ability to brush shoulders with the best, while young teenager Erickson has knocked on the door of a top 10 finish.
Given that Japan, Brazil and Australia all too offer bundles of their own talent with Sky Brown back from her surfing title and in the wings, women's park at OQS will be a contest watched with a lot of intrigue.