Exclusive! Determined Yuto Horigome ready for title defence: “I want to do my best at the Olympics. With a focus on winning.”
For the first time, in a long time, there was a sense of joy about Yuto Horigome.
Not the elated kind. Something much more subtle.
Relief had begun to slide away and a feeling of accomplishment had taken its place. It emanated from the skateboarder as he started to digest what had just happened.
In the heartbeats after, it was clear something special had occurred. A two-year-long qualification campaign riddled with snags and shortcomings ended with the Olympic champion on the right side of the line.
Mathematically, Horigome had arrived at the final Olympic qualifier in Budapest still in the fight to secure a quota for Paris 2024, but very few thought he might actually do it. And when he hit the concrete in clear discomfort at the close of the semi-finals the day before, even those immovable in his corner began to hesitate.
“I’d almost given up,” Horigome admitted exclusively to Olympics.com after, as if in solidarity with his doubters. “The injury was to my left leg, which I use to push, so it was very painful. I had to stop skating [during the practice session] because I realised how bad it was. I had painkillers and had electric therapy to make the injury numb.”
The last-ditch attempts to make his leg manageable eventually came off and with a “positive mental state” Horigome went about trying to pull off the impossible.
It is no secret that skaters are more often injured than not. With pain a cornerstone of the skateboard experience, it is not uncommon to hear after the fact that someone was carrying a major injury through a contest.
But this final was different: the stakes were unlike anything else.
A win here was a must, and even that did not necessarily guarantee Horigome a Paris berth. He also needed the results of the three other Japanese skaters in his heat to land a certain way. Sticking to what only he could control a slightly broken Horigome got to work.
“The most challenging part was controlling myself,” the Olympic gold medalist reflected. “There was a possibility that I wouldn't make it even with first place. I think the key was how I focused on myself without thinking about it.”
Horigome did indeed look locked in. In the run section, where he has tripped in qualifyings contests prior, he set an ominous tone; producing a 90.26 opening score - the second-highest of the final.
Then in the best trick section - as he had done to win his gold in Tokyo - he came alive. Resurrected, he dropped a 95.65 on his opener. He roared as he landed; letting his usually cool demeanour slip for just a second.
His pièce de resistance came on the third trick. Stomping a nollie 270 bluntslide down the big rail so grand Horigome without hesitation celebrated again kicking his board across the park in defiance. Where intricate tricks at crucial stages had been his undoing in the past, today - when it mattered most - they would not be.
Superstar street skateboarder Yuto Horigome was staring down the possibility of next being able to defend his Olympic title
"So many things didn't work, no matter what I did"
How ever did an Olympic champion skater, renowned for his grace and execution under pressure, end up in the last chance saloon?
“What used to work before didn't work,” Horigome suggested plainly. “I couldn't get good scores even though I landed my tricks. I was often short and missed the next round.
“I could skate, but I couldn't get the scores. I needed to get used to the rules and adapt my skating to them. That was the hardest part,” he continued.
“I knew I had to move up a level at some point, but it was hard. With no room for mistakes and under pressure, I thought I had been landing tricks, and I was confident that they were good enough. Still, I didn't get good results.
“Had I not been so stressed in a competition, maybe I could've landed those tricks, but I've been on the edge for a while. Although I wanted to try harder tricks, for some reason, I often couldn't. And before I knew it, the competition was over.”
The struggle to adapt, exacerbated by a seemingly neverending influx of fresh Japanese talent, eventually began to spill over and taint Horigome’s broader relationship with skateboarding. It got so fraught that the Japanese phenom considered quitting altogether.
“I wanted to stop competing or take a short break from skateboarding. I was stuck, and so many things didn't work, no matter what I did. It wasn't just skateboarding; there were many things, including relationships. When things come all at once, it is mentally challenging.”
"I just wanted to give everything"
What makes an Olympian a champion is a question which many have tried to answer.
Horigome didn't address the subject directly but as he explained why he decided to commit once last time to a Paris bid, he revealed qualities he no doubt used to set him apart on the concrete of Tokyo and again, in Budapest three years later.
“When skateboarding was included in the Olympic programme, and I won the gold medal, everything changed for me. My environment changed, and it had a huge impact on me. I didn't want to let that go. If I had an even 1 per cent chance, I wanted to skate until the end.
“Of course,” he continued, “with my results it was unlikely I would qualify.
“It wasn't something I could do easily. But I thought, I've come all this way, so there was no other option but to win. Even though first place doesn't guarantee it, I just wanted to give everything I could without any regrets.
“The Olympics is not the reason why I'm skateboarding. My core is unshakable. I like everything about skateboarding, including its culture. I respect it and started skateboarding before it became an Olympic sport. But that doesn't change the fact that it impacted me a lot and I think the Olympics are incredibly influential.”
Gratitude, humility and a significant helping of hunger: together they combined to pull Horigome through. Now, the Japanese champion will have the chance to become the first-ever back-to-back men’s street Olympic gold medallist on Saturday 27 July, when the skateboard event will be underway in Paris.
The challenge before Horigome won’t be easy. The field is a deep one. The United States, a powerhouse in skateboarding, will be represented by superstar Nyjah Huston and bronze medallist Jagger Eaton; France will have Aurélien Giraud for their cause. Then there are Horigome’s prodigious compatriots led by 14-year-old Onodera Ginwoo, who will be battling those twice his size and age.
It seems, however, that whatever the magnitude of the task in wait, Horigome is beckoning it closer.
Gone are the lingering anxieties that fed on a fear that if he didn’t make it to the Games his reputation might be in doubt and in its place is the desire to do one thing, and one thing only.
“I want to do my best at the Olympics,” Horigome concluded. “With a focus on winning.”