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[ODDS and EVENS] Japan's Street Skateboarding Squads Look Poised for Major Success in Paris

In the final qualifier before the Paris Olympics, Japan captured the gold, silver and bronze medals in both the men's and women's street skateboarding events.

Published

4 months ago

June 28, 2024

Ed Odeven

A composite photo of Yuto Horigome participating in the men's street skateboarding final at the Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest on June 23. (KYODO)

Read the full story on SportsLook - [ODDS and EVENS] Japan's Street Skateboarding Squads Look Poised for Major Success in Paris

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.

Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.

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.