- Skateboarding hit the Olympics – but is the sport selling out?
- Email Beau with your thoughts or tweet @duresport
Jagger Eaton comes out fast. Just flying. A neat little flip on the lip of the ramp is a nice touch, so he tries it again. This time, the board doesn’t go where he wants. Still only one run (Hoefler) that’s clean, but Eaton is the best of those who lost the board at some point, and that’s an 8.20. Second place. One more to go. (Again — this is only the first of seven opportunities to impress the judges, and four of them count.)
Nyjah Huston said after qualifying that he had been saving some tricks for the final. He makes it look effortless. Some skaters have a “wow, how did I do that?” look, but he just seems … OK, never mind. His last landing sends him onto his back, sliding across the concrete. It was a brilliant run until then, and he gets a 7.90. If that ends up as his fourth-best score, that won’t be so bad.
Brazil’s Kelvin Hoeffler took second in his home country in the 2018 world championships and won the 2017 X Games. And he nails this run. Good variety of tricks, complete control. First place with an 8.98.
Now we’re down to the two Americans and France’s Aurelien Giraud, who dominated in qualifying.
France’s Vincent Milou also comes off the board at one point but has a dazzling array of tricks, one after the other. Most skaters have been busy sliding on the rails, but he managed a 360 jump akin to what you’re used to seeing in the winters on snowboards. 7.87, second place for now.
Now it’s a Japanese favorite, Yuto Horigome, who slips a bit and tries to stay on … tries … tries … nope, he comes off the board. The degree of difficulty is pretty high, though, and he gets an 8.02. Still seems distraught. Skateboarders here don’t seem to be masking their feelings the way you’d see from figure skaters smiling after falling all over the ice.
Angelo Caro of Peru looks smooth but just seems to lose some momentum toward the end for a 7.01. My non-expert take is that the score seems a little low.
FIRST UP: Gustavo Ribeiro of Portugal has a great run going, with one move sending the board flipping on both axes (I believe Tony Hawk told us that’s a “varial,” though he doesn’t like the term) and catching some air, which is less common in street than it is in park. But he has a bad landing — in fact, it looks rather painful. He gets a solid 7.23.
And never mind — USA (an NBC network) cuts away from 3×3 to show our sport of choice for the evening/morning/afternoon.
If you’re in the USA watching on USA Network, you may be getting antsy because a men’s 3×3 basketball game is running long thanks to a steady series of airballs by the Polish team, which once led. But you can go online and watch.
If you’re watching elsewhere in the world, feel free to tell me how, and I’ll pass on any advice you have.
Yes, the pioneer is there:
I’m currently at the inaugural Olympic skateboarding event as The Faction’s “Skate and Destroy” plays over the loudspeakers. Welcome to our world.
Don’t forget that you can write me at beau.dure.freelance@guardian.co.uk or “@” me at @duresport
Fifteen minutes and counting. Grab the caffeinated beverage of your choice or eat whatever the kids eat to stay awake.
OK, let’s get this straight …
We’ll start with “runs,” where skaters will perform full-fledged routines incorporating the ramps, rails and jumps throughout the course. Each skater gets two.
The strangest part of the qualifying rounds was surely when a piece of the course popped loose during a run by the unfortunate Sora Shirai of Japan.
Shirai was given a restart and turned in a so-so run. He made up for it with three solid tricks but then couldn’t land either of his final efforts and finished ninth.
If you figured this morning’s action would be easy work for the USA! USA! USA!, you’d be wrong. Yes, Americans took two out of the top three. But Nyjah Huston in particular had a few bobbles, stepping off his board on each of his two runs and botching his first two tricks (we’ll get to the format in a second) before coming through in the clutch. Fellow American Jagger Easton will take some satisfaction in his performance, and we’ll stop the Stones references there. (We also will NOT make a Maroon 5 reference. The music mix here has been classic / alt rock, with some pump-up Zeppelin tracks, the Police and, oddly enough, multiple songs by The Cure.
American Jake Ilardi let loose some words that were easily lip-read as he placed 11th, three places out of the final eight. Australian Shane O’Neill didn’t land any of his final four tricks and ranked 16th.
Good morning if you’re in Tokyo. Good evening, afternoon or whatever you choose to call it if you’re elsewhere.
We’re going to watch some skateboarding, and you have enough time to get up to speed with Tony Hawk. This is the street event, so all of his aerials won’t apply, but the first few tricks will give you an idea. The big difference here is that they’ll be adding rails, steps and other things that will make parents avert their eyes.
Beau will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s a preview of today’s action:
He has hosted Justin Bieber at his private skate park and guest-starred opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the TV show Ballers. Now, Nyjah Huston is aiming to become an Olympic champion as skateboarding makes its debut in Tokyo.
Medals are on offer in two disciplines at the Ariake Urban Sports Park. In street, competitors skate on outdoor furniture and obstacles such as handrails, benches and stairs. Park features lofty tricks in steep-sided bowls.
Related: Nyjah Huston and skateboarding hit the Olympics – but is the sport selling out?
