Americans Jagger Eaton and Nyjah Huston both medaled in the men’s street skateboarding in a thrilling display of gutsiness, but it was Japanese star Yuto Horigome who pulled off an unfathomable Nollie 270 noseblunt on his final trick to leapfrog the competition and win his second consecutive gold medal.
Eaton and Huston were positioned to take 1-2 entering the final round, but Horigome pulled off the legendary trick to stun the crowd and score a 97.08 to vault into first place with a total score of 281.14. If he had failed to land it, the defending champ would have fallen to seventh place.
Huston, 30, led the pack for the majority of the competition but slipped back to bronze as he failed to connect on his final three attempts, finishing with 279.38 points. The world-renowned skater is a 15-time X Games gold medalist and is regarded as one of the greatest skateboarders ever.
Nyjah Huston is ON. 😲
What a second run in the men’s street final! #ParisOlympics
📺 : E! and Peacock pic.twitter.com/CSUWAHe6tN— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 29, 2024
Eaton entered the final round of tricks in first place after scoring a 95.25 on his fourth trick. The 23-year-old, who earned bronze in Tokyo despite competing on a broken ankle, clapped his hands in excitement after landing the trick and appeared to be positioned for the gold.
With a bail on his final attempt, Eaton finished with the silver and a score of 281.04 points.
Horigome’s teammate Sora Shirai was bumped from the podium by Horigome’s historic score. Shirai had a chance to sneak back into bronze position with his final attempt, but missed landing his trick by a hair.
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(Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP via Getty Images)
