Paris 2024 skateboarding: Japan's Yuto Horigome wins gold in men's street
Japan's Yuto Horigome put in a dazzling final trick to storm up the leaderboard and retain his Olympic title during a tense men's street final at La Concorde on 29 July.
Just 0.1 point adrift of Horigome on 281.04 was Team USA's Jagger Eaton, who upgraded his Tokyo 2020 bronze medal to clinch silver, while his teammate Nyjah Huston finished third on 279.38 to win his maiden Olympic medal.
Huston held the lead through most of the competition, but after Eaton’s stunning fourth trick, it all came down to Horigome’s fifth and final run.
Ryan Sheckler, one of the most influential professional skateboarders of all time, told NBC it was "the gnarliest final of competitive skateboarding that I’ve ever seen," leaving thousands of fans inside the Urban Park arena in awe.
The Battle for Gold
It ain't over till it's over, so says the saying. And that was certainly the case here, where each of the finalists simultaneously pushed their limits and the limits of their competitors.
Eaton's standout moment came during his fourth trick, where he landed an incredible 180 switch backside noseblunt slide, earning him a score of 95.25. This put him in the lead during the penultimate round, raising hopes of a gold medal for Team USA.
Also in red, white, and blue was his teammate, Huston, a prominent figure in skateboarding and a crowd favorite. Huston led the competition for most of the event after a blistering 93.37 second run followed by his first two tricks scoring 92.79 and 93.22, but agonisingly fell on his third and fourth attempts.
Despite this, his high scores kept him in contention going into the final round.
Horigome’s Heroic Comeback
Horigome, ever cool under pressure, scored the highest trick of round one but fell during his next three attempts and began the fifth and final round in seventh position.
It was now or never.
And Horigome rose to the occasion.
While Huston and Eaton both fell delivering their final tricks, Horigome soared, landing an eye-popping 97.08 - the highest score of the day - to clinch his second Olympic gold.
"In the beginning I was focusing on the medal, so I was just focusing on landing the tricks," Horigome said, "but Nyjah (Huston) and Jagger (Eaton) were keeping such good scores, so I stopped focusing on the medal and just tried the best trick I could."
Electric Atmosphere at La Concorde Urban Park
Vibes were high in the La Concorde Urban Park throughout the competition, as Snoop Dogg’s music blared over the loud speakers while none other than the artist himself was in the crowd, amongst fans, watching the action go down.
The event was marked by a vibrant atmosphere, with fans from around the world, including notable representations from Japan, the United States, and Brazil, cheering enthusiastically.
Paris 2024 also saw Slovakia’s Richard Tury, Argentina’s Matias Dell Olio and Cordano Russell of Canada making history as the first athletes from their respective countries to reach the men's street finals at the Olympic Games.
And it could have been even better for 19-year-old Russell, who soaked up the adulation of the crowd and held his skateboard aloft after landing a stunning 360 on his fourth trick for a whopping 94.93, but his best score of 23.55 on his first run had long put him out of medal contention.
Following the nail-biting final that took place on 29 July, the sport is sure to attract new fans worldwide and undoubtedly inspire the next generation of skateboarders.
Skateboarding: men's street final podium
Gold: Yuto Horigome
Silver: Jagger Eaton
Bronze: Nyjah Huston