Tokyo 2020: Japan's Horigome wins first ever Olympic skateboard gold

Tokyo, July 25: Yuto Horigome of Japan won the first ever skateboarding competition at the Olympic Games, taking gold in men's street on Sunday in the city where he learned to skate as a kid and where his sport is often frowned upon.

The first skateboarding silver went to Brazilian Kelvin Hoefler, who used to sleep with his board when he fell in love with skating as a kid. US skater Jagger Eaton took bronze, the Arizona native adapting best among the Americans to the extreme heat at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.

Blazing sun softened rubber joints on the boards' wheel axles, making them harder to control. One of skateboarding's biggest stars, Nyjah Huston from the US, fell repeatedly trying to land tricks and placed 7th in the eight-man final.

The final trick that secured Japan's Yuto Horigome as the first Olympic skateboarding champion in HISTORY‼️ #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/iI8vKpjvRd

— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 25, 2021