In the street skateboarding event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Japanese competitors Yuto Horigome and Ren Kagami took home the gold medals in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively. However, this was not due to flawless performances but rather because of the numerous mistakes made by their opponents. As a result, Australian viewers have taken to social media to harshly criticize the low level of competition.
One viewer commented, “I just watched half an hour of the skateboarding competition. Thirty-five competitors tried to perform tricks, and thirty-two of them failed. You could see better and more complete tricks performed at the West Leederville car park.”
Another viewer remarked, “What am I watching? Nothing exciting is happening! It feels like a bunch of people just hanging around.” Another pointed out, “In our local park, some ten-year-olds perform higher-level tricks!”
Some viewers also argued that skateboarding should not be part of the Olympics, calling it “an addition to this terrible Olympics” and stating that “this kind of entertainment doesn’t belong on the Olympic stage.” Skateboarding became an official Olympic sport starting with the Tokyo Olympics.
There were also complaints about the lack of safety measures for athletes: “Last night, many young girls competed without helmets, which really upset me! Shouldn’t wearing safety equipment be mandatory? One competitor who fell exclaimed ‘I hit my head,’ which is too dangerous!”
This comment referred to Cowell, who yelled after hitting her head following a mistake, causing a moment of panic. Fortunately, no tragedy occurred. What left the audience concerned was Cowell’s decision to continue competing despite her head injury, in an attempt to go for a medal. She ended up making repeated mistakes and falls, ultimately failing to win a medal and breaking down in tears.
According to Olympic rules, only skateboarders under the age of 18 are required to wear helmets in street competitions.