PARIS, France — A trio of teenagers helped Japan once again be the most successful skateboarding team at the Olympics.
Japan scored two gold medals and two silver medals across the four skateboarding events at the Paris Olympics. Team USA scored three skateboarding medals in Paris, falling just short of the top spot.
Fourteen-year-old Coco Yoshizawa and 15-year-old Liz Akama started things off right for Japan by taking gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s street event on July 28.
Yuto Horigome followed that up with his second gold medal in the men’s street on July 29. At 25, Horigome is a decade older than his fellow Japanese skateboarding medalists, but his efforts at Tokyo and Paris nonetheless make him an Olympic icon.
Kokona Hiraki secured Japan’s medal title with a silver in the women’s park event on Tuesday, Aug. 6. It’s the second silver medal for Hiraki in the event. She earned her first medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at the age of 12. She’s the youngest Olympian to win at least two medals.
The only skateboarding event that Japan has yet to earn a medal in is the men’s park event. Yuro Nagahara, 19, competed in the event’s semifinals for Japan but failed to reach the Aug. 7 final.
Skateboarding debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Japan earned five skateboarding medals at the Tokyo Games.
