Paris, France, August 6, 2024: Considering skateboarding is part of the Olympic Games for only the second time, it would be difficult to name a more popular sport in Paris.
On Tuesday, at the urban park of La Concorde 4, it was the turn of the women’s park skateboarders to thrill the full house in glorious summer sunshine.
Park is the more classic style of skateboarding, compared to the rough-and-tumble of street style, as the athletes use the steep curves of the competition bowl to soar into the air, gripping their board and landing with a clatter – or on the concrete with their board continuing alone.
On Tuesday, every move was cheered – and every mishap was greeted with a collective sigh, followed by encouragement, not just from the spectators but also the fellow competitors.
With the loose-style fashion of the athletes, and the background music, accompanied by expert commentary to describe the various moves and acrobatics, it all made for a marvellous afternoon’s entertainment.
It’s very much a family sport, especially for the children, who can identify with competitors from around the world aged anything from 13 to 20, as was the case in the final eight.
All in all, it has proved to be an excellent, visionary addition to the Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee – and this was very much in evidence three years ago in Tokyo, even without the thousands of fans who packed into the temporary stands of the venue at La Concorde 4.
Down in the competition bowl, Japan couldn’t quite make it 3-for-3 after winning both the women’s and men’s street titles earlier in the Games.
Cocona Hiraki, already an Olympic silver medallist in her home country three years ago at the age of 12, led the qualifiers into the eight-strong final in which the athletes had three runs of 45 seconds, with the highest score counting.
Skating last of the group, Hiraki opened with a high score of 91.98 to take the lead. Hiraki was still in front until Australia’s Arisa Trew, aged only 14 and ranked second in the world behind Hiraki, landed a run of 93.18 on her third attempt to knock the Japanese girl off top spot.
Shortly after, Britain’s Sky Brown, 16, supported by a sea of Union Jacks in the bright sunshine, scored 92.31 to move into second place, ahead of Hiraki.
The last skateboarder to go, Hiraki needed a score of 93.19 to secure the gold medal, but fell just short with 92.63. This took her above Sky Brown and earned her a second consecutive silver medal at the Olympic Games – and she’s still only 15.
But on this day, skateboarding was truly a winner – and looks set for a long life as an Olympic sport.