TOKYO • Momiji Nishiya became one of the youngest individual Olympic champions in history when she won the inaugural women's skateboarding gold at the age of 13 years and 330 days yesterday.
She finished ahead of Brazilian Rayssa Leal - who at 13 years and 203 days could have become the youngest individual Olympic champion - and fellow Japanese Funa Nakayama, 16.
The pint-sized Nishiya starred in the tricks section to score 15.26 points, giving the hosts a clean sweep of the street discipline as skateboarding makes its Olympic debut. Her performance mirrored that of compatriot Yuto Horigome, who won the men's title with a stunning sequence of tricks on Sunday.
"I'm so glad to become the youngest (Japanese gold medallist) at my first Olympics... tears came to my eyes," Nishiya said after receiving her medal.
She added that she wanted to claim a second gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024. But first, she will "go and eat at a beef barbecue restaurant" to celebrate her win.
The success of Nishiya and Horigome boosted stocks connected to the sport in Japan. Shares in Morito, which distributes skateboarding gear, surged 12 per cent yesterday after Nishiya's victory.
Other stocks also climbed as investors and retail traders scrambled for names they thought could benefit from the wins.
Mixi, whose unit sponsors Horigome, rose the most in seven weeks, while TSI Holdings, which owns a US skateboarding e-commerce site, added 3.2 per cent.
Skateboarding is one of four sports making their debut in Tokyo - along with surfing, sport climbing and karate - as part of an attempt to bring the Olympics to younger audiences.
Five out of the eight competitors in the final were in their teens, and American Alexis Sablone said it was a sign that women skaters were on the up. On her much younger rivals, the 34-year-old, who placed fourth, added: "More power to them, it's wild to see.
"For a long time, there were way fewer females doing this and it's taken until now for enough people to pay attention, to get enough eyes on it, to inspire more girls around the world to start skating."
Leal also agreed the final was proof that girls could skateboard. "It's not right to think, 'Well, you have to study, you can't go skating because skating is for boys.' I think skateboarding is for everyone."
US diver Marjorie Gestring remains the youngest individual Olympic champion at the Summer Games after winning the 3m springboard in 1936 aged 13 years and 268 days.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
