Olympia/10/31/2019

Everything About the Skateboarding Premiere at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo

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Skateboarding is finally olympic! At the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, skating will celebrate its Olympic premiere together with four other sports.  And the first Olympic skateboard champion has already been announced in street skating.

Author: Martin Jahns
More on the topic
Olympia
Heimana Reynolds from the USA is currently one of the world's best skateboarders.
Heimana Reynolds from the USA is currently one of the world's best skateboarders.
Image credit: Imago

Japanese Yuto Horigome is the First Olympic Skateboard Champion

Skateboarding was already a mass phenomenon in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet decades passed before the sport officially became part of the Olympic Games.

The 2021 Olympics in Tokyo will be the first time that medals will also be skated for. In the skate scene there is not only applause for this. Many critics fear that skateboarding will be deprived of its soul. Yuto Horigome won't care. He is the first ever Olympic skateboarding champion. The Japanese won the gold medal in street skating ahead of Kelvin Hoefler from Brazil and the American Jagger Eaton.

 

 

Which Skateboard Competitions Will Be Held at the 2021 Olympics?

A total of four medal decisions will be made in skateboarding at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. So there are a total of twelve medals up for grabs.

The skateboarding competitions at the 2021 Olympics:

  • Men's park
  • Women's park
  • Men's Street
  • Women's Street

In the park competitions, skaters will be judged on the style and tricks they perform in ramps, half pipes and pools. Here the main focus is on aerials and grinds.

Streeet Skateboarding focuses on tricks, grinds, slides and aerials in urban terrain. Steps and railings, for example, are classic elements in the street courses.

Where Will the Skateboard Competitions Take Place in Tokyo?

The skateboard competitions are held at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo. The sports park in the south of Tokyo offers space for 8400 spectators.

At the Olympic Games, the BMX races and the decisions in BMX freestyle are also held there.

Olympics 2021: The 5 Newly Participating Sports in Pictures

One of the five new sports in 2020 is sport climbing. The "Olympic Combined" competition format was specially created for this purpose. The triathlon includes lead, bouldering, and speed climbing. The three competitions will be held on one day.
A total of 40 climbing athletes (20 women and 20 men) have been admitted to Tokyo 2020.
The world's best surfers will surf in the ocean at the Olympic Games.
20 men and 20 women from all over the world will surf in one category at Tokyo 2020 - the shortboard.
People from the skateboard scene ask themselves whether Olympic participation is a curse or a blessing for the sport.
More than 80 female and male skateboarders will show their tricks and moves in the disciplines Park and Street in Tokyo in 2020.
In 2021, karate will give at least an intermezzo at the Olympics - with a total of 8 medal decisions.
For decades the karateka had fought for participation in the Olympic Games.
Baseball - or the women's alternative softball - is just as popular as karate in Japan. In 2020, the sport becomes for the first time Olympic.
For now, they have reached their goal. But whether the baseball players will remain Olympians in the long run, is still uncertain.
One of the five new sports in 2020 is sport climbing. The "Olympic Combined" competition format was specially created for this purpose. The triathlon includes lead, bouldering, and speed climbing. The three competitions will be held on one day.
A total of 40 climbing athletes (20 women and 20 men) have been admitted to Tokyo 2020.
The world's best surfers will surf in the ocean at the Olympic Games.
20 men and 20 women from all over the world will surf in one category at Tokyo 2020 - the shortboard.
People from the skateboard scene ask themselves whether Olympic participation is a curse or a blessing for the sport.
More than 80 female and male skateboarders will show their tricks and moves in the disciplines Park and Street in Tokyo in 2020.
In 2021, karate will give at least an intermezzo at the Olympics - with a total of 8 medal decisions.
For decades the karateka had fought for participation in the Olympic Games.
Baseball - or the women's alternative softball - is just as popular as karate in Japan. In 2020, the sport becomes for the first time Olympic.
For now, they have reached their goal. But whether the baseball players will remain Olympians in the long run, is still uncertain.

Who Is Qualified?

There are a total of 80 starting places for male and female skateboarders at the Olympic Games - 20 per competition. Each National Federation may take a maximum of six male and six female skateboarders, but no more than three male or female athletes per individual event.

These athletes* are already qualified:

Men Park:

  • Dany Leon (Spain)
  • Andy Anderson (Canada)
  • Dallas Oberholtzer (South Africa)
  • Heimana Reynolds (USA)
  • Cory Juneau (USA)
  • Luiz Francisco (Brazil)
  • Pedro Barros (Brazil)
  • Zion Wright (USA)
  • Keegan Palmer (Australia)
  • Oskar Rozenberg (Sweden)
  • Pedro Quintas (Brazil)
  • Ivan Federico (Italy)
  • Steven Pineiro (Puerto Rico)
  • Alessandro Mazzara (Italy)
  • Vincent Matheron (France)
  • Jaime Mateu (Spain)
  • Kieran Woolley (Australia)
  • Ayumu Hirano (Japan)
  • Tyler Edtmayer (Germany)

Men Street:

  • Yuto Horigone (Japan)
  • Nyjah Huston (USA)
  • Sora Shirai (Japan)

The other 16 starting positions are based on the world rankings as of June 30.

Women Park:

  • Amelia Brodka (Poland)
  • Josefina Tapia (Chile)
  • Bombette Martin (Great Britain)
  • Melissa Williams (South Africa)
  • Misugu Okamoto (Japan)
  • Sakura Yososumi (Japan)
  • Sky Brown (Great Britain)
  • Poppy Starr Olsen (Australia)
  • Elizabeth Armanto (Finland)
  • Kokona Hiraki (Japan)
  • Bryce Wettstein (USA)
  • Dora Varella (Brazil)
  • Isafora Rodrigues Pacheco (Brazil)
  • Brighton Zeuner (USA)
  • Jordyn Barratt (USA)
  • Yndiara Asp (Brazil)
  • Julia Benedetti (Spain)
  • Lilly Stoephasius (Germany)
  • Zhang Xin (China)
  • Maeleine Larcheron (France)

Women Street:

  • Aori Nishimura (Japan)
  • Momiji Nishiya (Japan)
  • Rayssa Leal (Brazil)

The other 16 starting spots are based on the world rankings as of June 30, plus an additional starting spot for Japan.

In the men's event, US star Nyjah Huston is the big gold favorite. In the women's field, the Brazilians around Rayssa Leal are to be reckoned with. The 12-year-old Sky Brown from Great Britain has what it takes to be the crowd's favorite.

These Are the New Olympic Sports

Author: Martin Jahns
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