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© Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Yoshizawa, Akama win gold, silver in street skateboarding at Paris Games
By KRISTIE RIEKEN PARIS©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
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PTownsend
Congratulations to Coco Yoshizawa and Liz Akama, two gritty, skilled young athletes. Seeing several competitors fall early on made me wonder whether the skaters had been allowed to practice at this park before the competition began. I was impressed when those that had fallen quickly bounced back up, then later tried again and again.
nonu6976
Ridiculous this activity is even allowed on the Olympics. These are not athletes in any sense.
deanzaZZR
Advertisers demand more content. It is as simple as that.
Newgirlintown
Now if they’d just show it on TV here rather than endless judo and swimming.
fallaffel
More ridiculous than jumping over a bar with a pole, punching people with gloves, etc.?
SDCA
Coco-chan is on another level. The bar for women's skateboarding has jumped significantly over the years!
Hawk
Golf would like a word...
Congratulations to the winners.
didou
A few “sports » should not be at the Olympics. Skateboard is one, break in dance an other one…..
More events, more medals, more sponsors, more money. Business
ewgirlintownToday 07:28 am JST
You are certainly new in town. The event was on TV.
And all events not on TV can be watched on TVer, through the app, internet, or TV.
Make your own search before bashing posting.
kochikame
Some people complain, saying this event should even not be an Olympics sort...
I disagree, because the athletes support each other, and there are a lot of comraderie. And The best, the more talented athlete wins...not the tallest...
Most events where the tallets has huge advantages are Volleyball, football, swimming, basketball, and many more.
It's very fun to watch them playing, and people watching this event really enjoy the atmosphere.
kochikame
I mean [Some people complain, saying this event should even not be an Olympics sport].
Strangerland
One of the most difficult sports in the Olympics.
JeffLee
It's crazy that Japanese are among the world's best skateboarders. My Tokyo park is festooned with about a dozen signs saying "No skateboarding!" And it's about the only place for miles around that offers any potential skateboarding terrain.
I get around a lot in Japan, and I hardly ever see skateboarders. When I go back to Canada, they are a frequent sight.
carpslidy
NewgirlintownToday 07:28 am JST
The whole event was live on NHK from 8pm yesterday
And, TVer has every single event live
Do a little research before you throw our the usual stereotypes
DaDude
It is a recreation sport that became a competitive sport over the years. Nobody complains about figure skating which is essentially the same type of sport but on ice. Make your own course over a certain amount of time while doing tricks. I love it and a welcome addition to the Olympics.
DaDude
If anybody knows the type of Asics shoes Liz Akama was wearing, please let me know. They were fire!
fa477279
If a 14yr old is the theoretical best in the world, I'm sorry this shouldn't be an Olympic sport.
carpslidy
Ridiculous this activity is even allowed on the Olympics. These are not athletes in any sense.
Personally, I have no interest in skateboarding, BMX or free style dancing but if it gets young people interested in sports and exercise I'm all for it
WoodyLee
Great, well Done Japan, Congrats.
browny1
Great win.
As an ex-skateboarder from long ago love watching the skills.
I'd really like though, as it evolves as an olympic sport, to see faster harder gnarlier white knuckle stuff added.
Stuff like really big air half-pipe, boarder-cross - individuals and team events, downhill - time trials and racing etc. Similar to winter boarding/skiing.
ATM it's a bit too clinical. A bit of derring-doo would stretch the athletic side.
Jtsnose
Team Japan Omedetou Gozaimasu!
TorafusuTorasan
A few grouches yelling at the skaters and breakers encroaching on their lawn.
Why not mix some humor with the mockery, like Snoop ad-libbing beatbox/bass to the crip-walking dressage horses last Olympics.
Fighto!
Hats off to Coco Yoshizawa and Liz Akama on their stupendous achievements in France! Japan certainly excels at youth street sports. These young kids grow up from very young ages honing their skills and tricks on the streets of Tokyo and Osaka. Expect a top showing in the breakdancing too.
For those saying "they're too young!" - there's a famous saying : You're old enough if you're good enough.
lostrune2
Go Japan!
Some places they do it for fun instead of medals
Nadia Comaneci was 14 years old when she won gymnastics gold
Fighto!
I see where you are coming from. But some of these athletes are only 11 or 12 - putting them at great risk doing more "white knuckle" tricks is too dangerous for children.
kohakuebisu
Well done ladies.
Competitive skateboarding is essentially gymnastics on wheels. The different dress code, use of music, tattoos, dreads, etc give it a different feel, but the physical demands and moves are quite similar. Competitive freestyle snowboarding is gymnastics on snow.
As for Japan and skateboarding, this is competitive skateboarding which is learned at dedicated centers to a high level by very focused people with coaches. Medals come from people doing it that way, not hanging out en masse on street corners or in a park in the hood.
NOMINATION
Amazing too that the 13 year old Gold meadalist from the Tokyo Olympics Momiji Nishiya couldn't even qualify for these Olympics. You would think that she was young enough to be around for at least 2 more Olympics. No wonder Sky Brown joined the England team...though she won't admit it.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Congrats to the skateboarders and congrats to Japan!
rcch
Yoshizawa, Akama win gold, silver in street skateboarding at Paris Games
Gold AND silver. Not bad, girls. Congratulations.
awomde
Anything that needs to be judged is not a sport
WeiWei
The olympics have bloated so much only to fill the coffers of Bach and the like.
This ”sport” should also implement age limit like figure skating has done recently, no-one under 18 should be allowed. Same should also be enforced for gymnastics.
Or organize a kid’s olympics after tha paralympic.
Hawk
So, boxing? If there's no knockout, the winner is decided by the judges' subjective judgement. Soccer? The awarding (or not) of penalties etc is based on the referee's judgement. I saw a bunch of calls in the judo yesterday that were based on judgement. Even the number of points scored, or speed/time are ways of 'judging' which team or athlete is better.
Also, there are sports that are objectively measured that I personally don't consider to be sport, such as golf, equestrian (or, at least give the medals to the horses) and American football.
Cephus
Good job, keep it up!!
Fighto!
Skateboarding (and breakdancing) is the language of the streets and the sport of the kids, the 11-16 year old cohort. Restricting it to adults will strip away much of the skill and ingenuity that only young kids can bring - plus, importantly, the viewership.
No, adults only is a very bad idea.
mountainpear
Skateboarding has every right to be an Olympic sport! Takes more skill and athleticism than running 50m in a straight line!
starpunk
Congrats, Silver and Gold.
It's a discipline and a lot can happen. Not as easy as it seems.
opheliajadefeldt
Well done to Coco Yoshizawa and Liz Akama of Japan for gold and silver.....keep going!!! As for all the nay sayers who say skate boarding is not a sport and shoud not be at the Olympics, well, what about Artistic Swimming, Beach Handball, Surfing, Dressage, Fencing, and Golf, all of these are very boring and gather very few watchers. At least skate boarding is fast and furious with all the participants risking serious injuries if some thing goes wrong. So these two young ladies deserve all the praise they have earned.
David K Anderson
Lots of clueless assertions that skateboarding "isn't a sport," probably from couch potatoes who have never done anything more athletic than try and be first in the buffet line. The only argument against it that carries any weight is the same that can be directed at any judged competition (gymnastics, figure skating, etc.). But like those sports, skateboarding has done its best to create a rigorous system that removes as much subjectivity from the scoring process as possible. It can't remove ALL subjectivity, but these commenters might be surprised at how objective the judging actually is.
JRO
Don't really see how Skateboard doesn't belong, just a sport like any other extreme sport, snowboarding, bmx etc.
Breakdancing, figure skating, some type of acrobatic dancing stuff I don't think belongs though.
Saki Endo
You can tell you have never tried skateboarding to any degree of competency. The years of training, battling and constantly practicing to get to this level is insanely difficult. Celebrate their success for heaven's sake. Skateboarding is extremely physically demanding to perform at this level.
Saki Endo
100% agreed. I'm constantly amazed skateboarding is seen in such a light, yet corruption in the Tokyo Olympics was punished with lenient suspended sentences and politicians can arrange lap dances to raise political funds under the guise of diversity. Speaks volumes about standards.
Saki Endo
Fantastic achievement for Japan. Awesome, as a skater myself I am constantly amazed and stoked on how dedicated and talented so many Japanese kids are at skateboarding. Even if they don't become professionals or champions, they all have so much fun doing it, often with a parent. It's so rad to see. As a 41 year old skater myself, seeing Japan's girls rise to occasion was awesome, and hats off to them - very well deserved.
JRO
There are couple of huge skate parks in Osaka and Tokyo were all these people basically live, it actually works in a positive way because they always get to train with the best and push each other. In other countries it's more spread out.
browny1
opheliajadefeldt -
Each to their own - But I'd hardly classify Surfing as boring.
Have you been watching the heats In Tahiti, Teahupo'o?
Waves 2 - 3 metres barrelling onto a coral reef.
These surfers - men and women including teenagers are supreme athletes.
If you think skateboarding is fast and furious, take some time out to watch some real heavy seconds from thrilling momentous stuff now showing in Tahiti. Maybe you'll like it.
And on from my earlier post - The X-Games are the home and soul of competition skateboarding. Events like Street, Vert, Park, Big Air and Monster versions like the BIG ramp Big Air would add considerably to the current olympic format. That's excitement.
ATM it's clever and tricky but tame.
kurisupisu
It’s a plus for Japan and a plus for Japanese youth to have successful models on the world stage.
Lets see more skateparks replace the endless car parks here…
patkim
So I guess that rules out diving, synchronized swimming, surfing, trampoline, gymnastics (both artistic and rhythmic), equestrian, and several winter sports like figure skating, snowboarding, aerials, and moguls. Also, to a certain degree, boxing, judo, wrestling, taekwondo, and fencing, since unless you get a clear knockout, submission, or ippon, you're left to judges making some calls on points given.
JRO
Yeah I think if we are arguing about judge based sports then for example Judo should probably be the first to go, I'd say that's the Olympic sport that relies the most on the referees personal judgement. For sports like snowboard and skateboard it's very clear why people get the score they get, surprises are very uncommon. But I guess if you watch it as a new viewer it can all feel very random.
Daniel Neagari
By that logic... South Korea (the country with most gold medals in archery) should have people shooting flints everywhere.
Or the US should get all the medals in shooting....
TokyoLiving
Congratulations!!!...
TokyoLiving
Tell us how many medals can you get for your country??..
vallum
kochikame wrote Today 07:47 am JST
In team sports not really.
Volleyball has the libero, the defensive player who isn't allowed to attack. Or the setter, the playmaker who only sometimes attack. Both don't really have to be tall, as their main jobs are not attacking or blocking.
Basketball has the Point Guard. Being tall of course helps, but if he isn't there are other ways he can cover this, like improving his 3-point shoots or using his speed.
Football... well, have you heard about Messi?
Dr.Cajetan Coelho
Congratulations to Coco Yoshizawa and Liz Akama.
lostrune2
Yes, the X-Games is to the Olympics what the FIFA World Cup is to the Olympics