While the Olympic skateboarding events unfold during the Paris Games, Japan’s athletes continue to show their strength especially when it comes to women’s street skating. Coco Yoshizawa won the gold trophy, while Liz Akama taking silver, showing Japan’s continuing performance in this fairly newly developed Olympic sport.
Who led Japan’s Charge in Paris?
Fourteen-year-old Coco Yoshizawa stood out as an outstanding performer during the street skating event for women during the Paris Olympics. After entering the event as the best qualifier Yoshizawa did her best with a string of tricks and runs that scored high which earned her a gold medal. She not only demonstrated her skill but also ensured Japan’s claim to the Olympic title. It was an achievement started by Momiji Nishiya in the Tokyo Games in 2021.
What were the most important moments to Yoshizawa as well as Akama?
In the semifinal round that took place in the picturesque La Concorde urban sports complex located in the center of Paris, Yoshizawa and Akama competed to be the best. Yoshizawa’s final score was 272.75 which was the sum of her highest two runs with two top scores of the highest trick segment. Akama who is only one year older, at the age of 15, was close behind in the final score with 265.95.
The competition reached its apex at the time Yoshizawa performed a huge big flip in front of her last best trick attempt. This trick not only earned her an impressive 96.49 points but also helped push ahead of Akama in the rankings. Prior to this, Akama had set a benchmark with scores such as 89.26 on her second attempt as well as 92.62 for the 270 switch on her front board slide which initially positioned her as the top contender.
How did Yoshizawa Think About her victory?
After the win, Yoshizawa expressed gratitude for the greater attendance of fans in the Paris Games compared to previous events. The crowd was praised to boost her performance. similar to her win in Budapest in the Olympic Qualifier Series final in Budapest. She had astonished the audience when she transitioned from fourth position on her final move, which that she repeated at Paris.
What is this saying about Akama?
Even though she was just a hair short of winning the gold medal, Liz Akama was moved by her achievement. Being awarded the Olympic medal at this young age was a fulfillment of her goal and inspired her to strive at gold in the next Games. She was grateful for the encouragement from supporters and pledged to keep striving to reach her goal of Olympic gold.
How do you compare to other competitors?
The event also featured strong performance from the others. Rayssa Leal from Brazil is the Tokyo Olympic finalist, won the bronze medal with a score of 253.37. Leal was the most popular choice of fans and was surrounded by enthusiastic Brazilian supporters throughout the entire event. But Funa Nakayama, who had taken bronze at Tokyo however, was not able to replicate her win by failing to score on the five most successful tricks.
Conclusion
The street skateboarding competition for women in the Paris Olympics did not just highlight individuals’ brilliance, but also showed the range of talent that exists in the Japanese skateboarding scene. With promising young skaters such as Coco Yoshizawa as well as Liz Akama leading the charge Japanese dominance in the sports is set to grow with a promising future for Olympic skateboarding.