The street skateboarding podium may be the youngest in Olympic history, and the Games’ newest sport is all about youth
On 3 August 2016, when skateboarding was officially approved for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics, Momiji Nishiya was looking forward to her ninth birthday later that month. Five years and one pandemic postponement later, she became her sport’s first female gold medalist, winning the street event in Tokyo earlier this week. She is just 13 years old.
Rayssa Leal, the Brazilian who took silver, is eight months younger. And the third woman – or in this case, girl – who collected a medal Sunday, Funa Nakayama, is a comparatively ancient 16.
