Yuto Horigome Wins First Skateboarding Gold Medal, Jagger Eaton Wins Bronze

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Yuto Horigome Wins First Skateboarding Gold Medal, Jagger Eaton Wins Bronze

Japan’s Yuto Horigome entered the men’s street competition at the 2020 Tokyo Games as one of the best street skaters in the world.

Horigome ended the competition Sunday morning with the first Olympic gold medal in skateboarding. The Japan phenom scored 37.18 points nailing four tricks 9.50, 9.35, 9.30, and 9.03 to secure his gold medal before most of the other skaters attempted their final trick. Brazil’s Kelvin Hoefler won silver, scoring 36.15 points and American Jagger Eaton won bronze with a 35.35 score.

Fan-favorite Nyjah Huston hoped to contend for a medal after beating Horigome at the World Skate/SLS World Championships in 2019. But it was not meant to be for the 26-year old as he finished seventh, failing to land four of his final five trick attempts.

For Horigome, the gold for Japan increases the host nation’s medal count to four total, with three gold medals. Team USA won its seventh medal of the day after enjoying plenty of success in swimming.