Skateboarding made its debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, along with four other new sports. There are two events in skateboarding, street and park, for men and women.
Park Skateboarding Event
In the park skateboarding event, skaters perform tricks in on a course called a "combination pool," which is like a familiar skate park containing bowls and pools in a complex combination with ramps and course bends. The smooth bowls have steep curved inclines meaning skaters can achieve massive height and have the freedom to put together a run as they see fit. The competitors perform three 45-second runs, and their best counts as their final round score. Some factors in working out the scores are: degree of difficulty of tricks, height, speed, originality, execution, and the overall routine.
Street Skateboarding Event
In street skateboarding, the skaters perform tricks on a street-like course with stairs, handrails, curbs, benches, walls, and slopes. They are free to choose whatever route they want around the course. In each round, the skaters will perform two 45-second runs and five tricks. The competitors are scored for the difficulty and the originality of their tricks.
Skateboarding at the Paris 2024 Olympics
There are four medal events, men's and women's street and park. Compared to Tokyo 2020, the total number of athetes has increased from 80 to 88.
Trivia
- British skateboarder Sky Brown, who was actually born in Japan, became the youngest British Olympian ever at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
- In the inagural women's street event, the top three placegetters were teenagers - two 13-year-olds, Momiji Nishiya of Japan and Rayssa Leal of Brazil, placed first and second, with bronze going to another Japaese skater, 16 year old Funa Nakayama.
Related Pages
- About Olympic Roller Sports
- Roller Hockey was a demonstration sport at the 1992 Olympics.
- POLL: Which sport should be next included in the Olympic Games?
- List of Olympic Sports
- About the sport of skateboarding