Sakura Yosozumi is shown wearing a red shirt and purple helmet while skateboarding down a wall with "Tokyo 2020" painted on it.

Japan continues to dominate in skateboarding at the Olympics

The park skateboarding event made a memorable debut at the Tokyo Olympics — with the host country continuing to dominate.

The World

Park skateboarding made a memorable debut at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.

One by one, 20 skaters from six continents dropped into the bowl. This women’s event was one of the youngest the Olympics has ever seen, with most of the competitors coming in under 20 years old.

And the Olympic debut of skateboarding is quickly becoming an all-Japanese affair.

Related: Athing Mu races to gold in Tokyo, makes US Olympic history

Making three gold medals from three events, with just one more left to go, Sakura Yosozumi led a Japanese 1-2 in the women’s park event on Wednesday, solidifying the host country’s dominance in the sport’s Olympic debut.

Yosozumi’s tricks made it tough for any of the other competitor’s to catch her. Her first run scored 60.09, making her the only competitor to break 60 points in the event at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.

Related: France loves judo: How the French team won the Olympic gold

Sakura Yosozumi is shown in mid-air holding her skateboard to her feet.
Sakura Yosozumi performs a trick in the women’s park skateboarding finals at the Tokyo Olympics, Aug. 4, 2021.Ben Curtis/AP

Kokona Hiraki took silver and, at 12 years old, became Japan’s youngest ever Olympic medalist.

Sky Brown, already a skating superstar at 13, prevented a Japanese medal sweep by taking the bronze, making her the youngest person to win a medal for Britain at the Olympics.

Yosozumi said Japanese skaters were inspired to train hard when they found out they’d host the Olympics first skate competition.

Related: The Olympic trampoline tradition: Remembering the man who taught the world to bounce

Kokona Hiraki is shown wearing all white and black knee pads while riding a skateboard.
Kokona Hiraki of Japan competes at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo, Japan.Ben Curtis/AP

Even Great Britain’s Sky Brown has ties to Japan. She was born in Japan and mostly grew up in Miyazaki, a city on the southern tip of the island.

Sky Brown of Britain is shown upside down with her skateboard held against her feet and her right arm holding on to the edge of the park bowl.
Sky Brown of Britain competes in the women’s park skateboarding finals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Aug. 4, 2021.Ben Curtis/AP

Brown went into the competition favored to win gold but still ended her runs overcome with emotion.

“It’s insane to be here,” she said after the event. “I’m so happy to be on the podium with these guys. They’re so amazing, I mean, everyone ripped.”

Sakura Yosozumi and Kokona Hiraki are show side-by-side with a Japanese flag held up behind them.
Gold medal winner Sakura Yosozumi (R) and silver medalist Kokona Hiraki, both of Japan, celebrate after the women’s park skateboarding finals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Aug. 4, 2021.Ben Curtis/AP

The men are up next in the park skateboarding event. Unlike the in women’s event, there will only be a few teen skaters.

Also competing are two veterans of the sport: Denmark’s Rune Glifberg and South Africa’s Dallas Oberholzer who are both 46 — making them two of the oldest Olympians in Tokyo.

Related: What would the ancient Greeks think of an Olympics with no fans?

Neither Glifberg or Oberholzer are expect to medal. But Oberholzer said he’s just glad to finally prove to his mom that skateboarding hasn’t been a giant waste of time.

The AP contributed to this post.

Tell us about your experience accessing The World

We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!