Japan is positioned to contend for multiple medals in both the men's and women's street skateboarding competitions at the Paris Olympics.
Remarkably, Japan finished 1-2-3 in both events at the Olympic Qualifier Series final on Sunday, June 23 in Budapest.
In the last major competition before the Paris Olympics, Japan reminded everyone of its overall excellence in the discipline.
Reigning Olympic men's gold medalist Yuto Horigome needed a banner performance in the Hungarian capital to secure one of Japan's three coveted berths among the 24 skateboarders who'll participate in the gravity-defying display of tricks and aerial brilliance.
Mission accomplished. Horigome, who is 25, triumphed with a 283.01-point effort. Fourteen-year-old compatriot Ginwoo Onodera scored 276.46 points to finish as the runner-up, and defending world champion Sora Shirai, 22, also booked a ticket to Paris after amassing 270.02 points. (A national squad can enter a maximum of three athletes in each skateboarding event.)
A 1-2-3 Finish for Japanese Women
In the women's competition on Sunday, Coco Yoshizawa, 14, finished atop the leaderboard with 270.29 points. Yumeka Oda, the reigning world champ, earned a second-place finish with 268.52 points. Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Funa Nakayama, 19, who scored 263.62, was third.
Fourth-place finisher Liz Akama, 15, collected 262.50 points but clinched a spot in the Paris competition a day earlier based on the overall world rankings. She is No 2, trailing only Yoshizawa. In addition, Nakayama is ranked fourth and Oda is fifth.
From Nightmares to Celebrations
Returning to Horigome's familiar spot on the victory stand, it was interesting to peruse the words that revealed his range of emotions.
So how did Horigome react to his victory-winning performance?
"I still can't believe it, I had nightmares last night," Horigome said on Sunday.
He added, "I couldn't sleep very well because I needed first place to get to the Olympics."
For Horigome, the ups and downs of recent years were on display in the Olympic qualifiers.
"I'm very happy I did good today," Horigome said, according to Olympics.com. He added, "I landed all my new tricks and I was having fun with friends, you know? When I've been in skating contests [the last two years] it's been hard to have fun. I don't know why, but this one I had fun and I'm super happy I made the Olympics."
For any athlete who hasn't retired, qualifying for the Olympics as a reigning champion is the first big step toward achieving a bigger goal.
But don't discount the importance of what Horigome said after admitting he was "super happy."
And it could be the biggest factor in how he performs at the Olympics on July 27. "I think my confidence is back," he told reporters.
The Key to Victory for Horigome in Budapest
In regaining that confidence, Horigome expertly executed a difficult trick known as a nollie 270 bluntside, riding down a rail to wrap up his Sunday performance.
Horigome received 97.01 points for that portion of the final. It was the highest score ever awarded for an Olympic Qualifying Series street skateboarding trick.
The "270" refers to a three-quarter rotation for the athlete and the skateboard.
Surfertoday.com includes nollie in its skateboarding glossary, noting nollie refers to the nose of a skateboard and an ollie move. The latter is described as "a trick in which the skater uses his or her feet to pull the skateboard up into the air."
ESPN.com described a bluntslide as "when a skater drops the board's tail and back wheels onto a park obstacle and slides."
Horigome's smooth execution of the move left fans and rivals in awe.
Mixed Emotions for Onodera
Just like in life, it's unrealistic to expect that everything will go exactly as one hopes in competition.
Noting that he had some ups and downs on Sunday, skateboarding prodigy Onodera told reporters that he experienced frustration in the final in Budapest.
That said, Onodera's joy after the final was one of the bright spots on a busy day of Olympic qualifiers in various sports in Hungary.
"Well, I'm happy that I can compete at the Olympics, so I'm going to give it my all," Onodera said. "In Paris, I want to try my best and see what happens."
Yoshizawa Reflects on Skateboarding Performance in Budapest
After winning the Olympic Qualifier Series event in the Hungarian capital, Yoshizawa looked back on how self-confidence impacted her performance.
It was an effort highlighted by drama, with Yoshizawa catapulting from fourth to first on her final attempt. And it demonstrated that she has poise beyond her years.
"I didn't qualify in first [place] from the semifinal so I was a little worried about how the finals would go for me today," Yoshizawa told reporters in Budapest. "But I believed in myself and that if I did the best I could do, I could come in first today in the finals."
She added, "I didn't worry about anyone else, I just focused on my performance."
Thinking ahead to stepping back into the spotlight in Paris, where the women's street skateboarding medals will be awarded on July 28, Yoshizawa is, not surprisingly, fired up.
"I have been a little nervous thinking about Paris," Yoshizawa said, according to Olympics.com, "but after winning today and qualifying first I am excited for the Olympics."
Nishiya Falls Short of Goal
Tokyo 2020 women's champ Momiji Nishiya, 16, is currently No 7 in the world, three spots below Nakayama in the latest rankings. Japan's exceptional talent and depth in skateboarding will keep Nishiya out of the Olympics this time.
But Nishiya, who placed 15th in Budapest, should have multiple chances to contend for an Olympic berth in years to come. After all, remember that Horigome is 25.
Nishiya's supporters are disappointed she didn't qualify for Paris. But Japanese skateboarding fans have plenty of reasons to be excited about the nation's chances to shine on the big stage in late July.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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