PARIS (AP) — Americans Jagger Eaton and Nyjah Huston were the top qualifiers in the preliminary round of men’s street skateboarding at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
Eaton nailed his second run while Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” played on speakers around La Concorde Urban Park and picked up trick scores of 92.65 and 93.86 to finish first of the 24 skateboarders in the competition. The Arizona native won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
Huston was a narrow second after a flawless run that, along with his two best tricks, all scored in the 90s. He tapped his skateboard against the ramp and yelled, “Let’s go!” after essentially sealing his place in the final later Monday.
Japan’s Sora Shirai and Yuto Horigome, the defending gold medalist, were third and fourth. Making his Olympic debut, 14-year-old Japan skateboarder Ginwoo Onodera did not qualify, nor did the third U.S. skateboarder, Chris Joslin, who had an off day.
Argentina’s Matias Dell Olio, Kelvin Hoefler, Canada’s Cordano Russell and Slovakia’s Richard Tury also qualified. Tury’s final trick bumped France fan favorite Vincent Milou out of the top eight.
Milou, coming off a serious right ankle injury a couple of months earlier, called skating in Paris a once-in-a-lifetime experience and an honor.
This competition was scheduled for Saturday, but the same rain that soaked the opening ceremony down the Seine River — then much more overnight and into the morning — caused it to be postponed. World Skate cited adverse weather conditions for the move, and it was one of a handful of outdoor events affected over the weekend before skies cleared.
Sunny, warm weather greeted the skateboarders Monday, with temperatures reaching a high of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius) near the end of the preliminary round.
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Australia’s Shane O’Neill wiped out on several of his runs and got bigger cheers each time from the crowd that peaked when he landed his fourth trick and finally flashed a smile. Over 10,000 miles from his home in Melbourne, O’Neill got another ovation after missing on his final chance, then flashed a thumbs up to the camera.
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