A 13-Year-Old Just Won Olympic Street Skateboarding Gold

If this isn’t a hometown hero story, then we’re not sure what is. With skateboarding finally debuting in the Tokyo Olympics (a win for action sports in general), two Japanese riders took full advantage of their home court to make action sports history. First, in the men’s street competition, 22-year-old Yuto Horigome took home the first-ever skateboarding gold medal for his home country, only to be followed up by 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya in the women’s competition a day later. Horigome grew up in Tokyo, learning to skate from his father, who was also a professional skater. Nishiya became the youngest person to ever win gold for Japan. Check out the highlights from both competitions here, and keep an eye out for the upcoming skateboard park competition from Tokyo.