Paris, France, July 29, 2024: The defending champion in men's street skateboarding, Yuto Horigome of Japan, was sitting in seventh place before his fifth and final trick of the afternoon at La Concorde 3 on Monday.
But he pulled out all the stops to nail a massive 97.08 from the judges to shoot him into first place on 281.14 points.
Horigome earned his total with the best of his two runs (89.90) and his two best of five tricks - 94.16 in his opening effort and, after three no scores, that blockbuster 97.08 in his fifth and final attempt.
The United States took silver and bronze through Jagger Eaton (281.04) and Nyjah Huston (279.38).
Horigome, 25, retained his street title from Tokyo 2020, when skateboarding made its Olympic debut, and earned Japan its second skateboarding gold in two days following the victory of Coco Yoshizawa, 14, in the women’s street competition the previous day.
Horigome said the standard of skateboarding in Japan was rising all the time so he had to keep on top of his game.
“Getting into the national team is very difficult and I didn’t even know if I would make it here,” he admitted. “There are so many incredible kids around, physically and mentally.”
He was asked about the possibility of a three-peat in Los Angeles 2028 and added: “Maybe it would be the last Olympic Games for me. If I can go there and perform my best it would be fantastic. I love this sport. I want to continue as long as possible. I would like to keep creating individual art.”
Horigome thanked his family, fans, colleagues and team mates for all their support in between Tokyo 2020 three years ago until now – with two gold medals to show for his dedication.