Three Teens Medal in Womenโs Street
The Tokyo Olympics are a showcase for the biggest city in Japan, but so far they have also been a showcase for the talent in Japanese skateboarding. The first-ever skateboarding gold medal went to Yuto Horigome of Japan in men’s street. Now, the women’s street contest is also in the books. Although, to call it the “women’s” street contest feels a little weird, given how things turned out.
Momiji Nishiya wins the first #gold in women's #skateboarding.
— ๐๐๐๐ต๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป (@ayshardzn) July 26, 2021
She’s only 13. ๐ #Olympics #Tokyo2020
pic.twitter.com/c1Q4Iq0KKw
When the women’s street event was over, three teenagers were walking away with medals, two of them from Japan. Funa Nakayama won bronze, while Brazil’s Rayssa Leal finished second. The winner, in the end was Japan’s own Momiji Nishiya. Nakayama is the elder skater of the group at all of 16. Both Nishiya and Leal are only 13 years old. Now, you could make an argument that kids that young shouldn’t have the pressure of competing at such a high level on them. There’s a concern to that, much as with child actors. Then again, clearly the pressure didn’t get to these three teenage girls. Check out Nishiya’s gold-medal-winning run in the video above.
