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E-mail Xinhua, July 17, 2024
As skateboarding talents around the world are set to gather in the upcoming Paris Olympics, it will be a challenging feat for both Japanese and American riders to claim victories despite their dominance in the past few years.
Japan's Sakura Yosozumi, the 22-year-old reigning women's world park champion, secured a place at Paris and placed third in the World Skateboarding Ranking (WSR) after the Olympic Qualification Series (OQS) in Budapest, while her compatriot Kokona Hiraki topped the ranking.
Zheng Haohao of China competes during the women's park preliminaries of skateboarding at the Olympic Qualifier Series Budapest in Budapest, Hungary, June 20, 2024. (Xinhua/He Canling)
The women's street is also a stage for Japanese skateboarders to show their talents. Although Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Momiji Nishiya will miss out on Paris, Coco Yoshizawa, Liz Akama and Funa Nakayama form a strong Japan team.
Australia's Arisa Trew and Britain's Sky Brown look ready to challenge the Japanese skaters.
Trew claimed the gold in Olympic qualifiers in both Shanghai and Budapest, propelling her to the second place in WSR. She is also the first female skater to successfully land a 900.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Brown beat Yosozumi to become the champion at the 2022 Park World Championships in Sharjah, before taking silver at the Budapest Olympic qualifier at 16 years old.
As the youngest participant in the Chinese delegation and the only Chinese in women's park, Zheng Haohao, will celebrate her 12th birthday on the day of the Paris Olympics closing ceremony, August 11. Having trained for fewer than four years, she is looking to enjoy the Games together with teammates Cui Chenxi, Zeng Wenhui and Zhu Yuanling.
As the first Chinese to appear in Olympic skateboarding and reach the final, Zeng finished 6th in Tokyo. Cui claimed gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games and finished 8th at the Street World Championships in Japan, demonstrating the potential to reach new heights in Olympics.
The men's street will see fierce competition between the Japanese and American favorite Jagger Eaton.
Yuto Horigome, Tokyo Olympic champion, only finished 17th in the OQS Shanghai, but bounced back to clinch gold in Budapest, securing his spot in Paris.
After faltering at his home Olympic Games three years ago, Sora Shirai is hungry for redemption in Paris, and last December claimed the World Championship title.
Eaton stands out as the most formidable challenger for the Japanese team, achieving a remarkable feat by clinching the gold medal in the street and bronze medal in the park on the same day at the OQS Shanghai.
Due to the rule that each team is limited to a maximum of three athletes per gender in each discipline, Eaton has selected to focus on the street event.
The US team possesses strength in the men's park, but winning a medal will not be easy.
Ranked first in the world, America's Tate Carew will face a challenge from Tokyo Olympic champion Keegan Palmer of Australia. Carew emerged victorious over Palmer at the OQS Shanghai, while Palmer claimed the title in Budapest.
Meanwhile, Brazilian skaters Augusto Akio, Luigi Cini and Pedro Barros all have their chances to challenge for top honors in Paris.
