Australia’s Keegan Palmer retains skateboarding men’s park title at Paris Games

PARIS - Australia's Keegan Palmer held off American Tom Schaar at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday to defend his title from the Tokyo Games and become the first back-to-back gold medallist in the men's park skateboarding event.

Palmer whipped through the concrete bowl in a lightning fast opening run packed with tricks and high air for a score of 93.11 and an early lead he would not relinquish.

Sitting in silver medal position, Schaar knew he would have to produce something special to overtake Palmer in his final run but collapsed on his back at the bottom of the bowl when he failed to land a tail grab 540, delivering the title to his friend and rival.

"It's a wild, crazy feeling to be able to say I'm a two-time Olympian, let alone two-time Olympic gold medallist," Palmer told reporters.

"It's a dream come true to be able to represent the green and gold for Australia. It's an honour."

Schaar ended up with the silver medal and Brazil's Augusto Akio, who entertained the audience by juggling when he wasn't competing, edged countryman Pedro Barros to take bronze before an overflowing stadium that included skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and rapper Snoop Dogg.

With the title secured before his final run after Schaar's fall, Palmer took a spirited victory lap full of huge air to the delight of the boisterous crowd.

The 21-year-old held his board in the air and bowed from the jump box in the middle of the bowl before Barros and American Tate Carew skated out to him, lifting him up on their shoulders in a great show of sportsmanship.

Schaar, who narrowly missed out on competing in the Tokyo Games, tipped his hat to Palmer, who lives near him in San Diego.

"He seems to have the edge," Schaar said. "He's just got a really deep bag of tricks and he can always put it together. He's just very clutch in those moments where he needs to be."

Three years ago, Palmer came out of nowhere to dominate the inaugural park competition in Tokyo but was a favourite coming into Wednesday's final.

He won the preliminaries earlier in the day with his blistering speed, huge air and complete control and did not let up in the final at La Concorde.

Palmer's triumph followed 14-year-old Australian Arisa Trew winning the women's park event on Tuesday. REUTERS