Olympics and Paralympics
Yuto Horigome Edges Two Americans to Defend His Title in Street Skateboarding
In the sport that made its debut at the Tokyo Games, 25-year-old Yuto Horigome landed his final trick in style at the Paris Games to add to Japan's dominance.
Japan's Yuto Horigome saved his best for last to defend his title in the men's street skateboarding event at the Paris Olympics on Monday, July 29.
Horigome scored a nearly perfect 97.08 points on his fifth and final trick Monday to pass Americans Jagger Eaton and Nyjah Huston and claim the gold medal.
The electric atmosphere for Monday's final at La Concorde urban sports complex was in sharp contrast to the empty stands when Horigome won on home soil three years ago.
"It means everything," Horigome said, according to The Associated Press. "It feels like a dream, a living dream. It's crazy. Tokyo, no one was there, no crowds, so I'm very happy this time [with] all the fans here. It's a special moment."
Horigome finished with 281.14 points, just 0.1 points ahead of Eaton. Huston took home the bronze, an improvement after a disappointing seventh-place finish in Tokyo.
Yuto Horigome Finishes Strong
Rain forced the postponement of the men's street skateboarding event which was supposed to be held on Saturday. Clear skies prevailed for Monday's final before a near-capacity crowd that included American rapper Snoop Dogg.
The 25-year-old Horigome, a Tokyo native, came up empty on his second, third and fourth tricks but then pulled off a spectacular nollie 270 nosebluntside to jump from seventh to first.
Huston and Eaton wiped out on their fifth and final chances, making Hirogome the Olympic champion once again.
"When he made that, all I thought was 's---,' " Eaton was quoted as saying by ESPN. " 'S---.' I knew with that trick score, I knew that he was going to win if he landed it."
Another Day, Another Skateboarding Gold for Japan
Horigome added to Japan's street skateboarding dominance in Paris after Coco Yoshizawa and Liz Akama won gold and silver, respectively, in the women's competition the previous day.
Japan's world champion Sora Shirai was fourth in the men's final, finishing just short of the podium after failing to land the last of his five single-trick attempts.
Skateboarding made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games three years ago and Japan dominated, winning three gold medals, a silver and a bronze.
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Author: Jim Armstrong
The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.