World Street Skateboard Rome 2022: Nyjah Huston storms to victory over Aurelien Giraud as Horigome Yuto finishes in eighth
World No 1 Huston was pushed all the way by the Frenchman but the American pulled out all the stops to win the first Olympic qualifier for Paris 2024.
Skateboarding
Nyjah Huston was a cut above the rest as he took the men's title at World Skate Street Skateboarding 2022 in Rome, Italy on Sunday (3 July).
The 27-year-old raised his game to score 279.43 and fend off an inspired Aurelien Giraud, who had to settle for second (275.96).
The two skateboarders went toe-to-toe as the competition progressed with the American taking advantage of his superior qualifying position in yesterday's semi-final to ensure he could better the Frenchman every turn.
"It was a good battle with Aurelien out there," Huston told Olympics.com after securing his victory. "He's definitely pushing me to go harder out there and do some hard tricks."
When Giraud threw it all down on his fifth attempt, the crowd gathered under the shadow of the Coliseum held its breath but his 91.83 fell short of what was required to beat Huston's total, much to their displeasure.
The American then silenced any residual doubts when he delivered his finale trick scoring a 93.32, the highest mark of the night.
"I was so stoked I was able to do that last trick because I always wanted to do that in a contest, I've been practising it a lot," Huston added.
Portugal's Gustavo Ribeiro, who finished top in Saturday's semi-finals, rounded off the Roman podium in third (261.40) while Olympic champion Horigome Yuto finished in eighth place.
The 23-year-old from Japan had the second lowest score in the run section before only managing to put down one trick out of five leaving him with a score of 169.39.
EXCLUSIVE: Nyjah Huston on the line between winning and expectation
Argentinian upstart Mauro Iglesias finished his impressive run in Rome in fifth place behind compatriot Matias Dell Olio, while France's Vincent Milou and Canada's Ryan Decenzo took sixth and seventh respectively.
World Street Skateboarding Rome 2022: Men's final results
- Nyjah Huston (USA) 279.43
- Aurelien Giraud (FRA) 275.96
- Gustavo Ribeiro (POR) 261.40
- Matias Dell Olio (ARG) 255.40
- Mauro Iglesias (ARG) 255.40
- Vincent Milou (FRA) 247.39
- Ryan Decenzo (CAN) 238.26
- Horigome Yuto (JPN) 169.39