Men’s street skateboarder Shane O’Neill isn’t one of the many competitors who have griped about the weather in Tokyo.
Before he even took his first sip of Olympic water, his dark green team shirt and even darker leggings were soaked through.
S. O’Neill Olympic Games
The 2016 Olympic gold medalist and world champion is a technically proficient skater with 1.4 million Instagram followers, but today was not his day. The wheels on his vehicles were loose due to the high humidity, making them difficult to manage.
He’s not whining; he’s just fielding questions from the assembled media about what it’s like to know you can win and to have beaten most of the folks you’re fighting against but to realise that today is not that day.
“Today was not so Fantastic, it’s Super-Hot, and I Really, Maybe didn’t Choose the Wisest Stunts,” O’Neill Added.
A switch 360 double flip I was attempting was unsuccessful since my board was too sloppy due to the high temperature.
“It was tough out there for me, but I believe the other skaters are doing fairly well with what they’re trying, and I’m thrilled with the show… like, I’m just happy to be watching as well.”
He is fortunate to be in this group. No one could witness the new Olympic sport of skateboarding in person, save from the assembled media and authorities like Australian Sports Minister Richard Colbeck, who came along to take in the event.
That’s too bad. With the south-easterly breeze keeping them unfurled, the flags representing the various competitors at Ariake Urban Sports Park stood like soldiers at attention against the blue sky and beating sun that would have been the perfect backdrop for the raucous cheering of the fervent fans who would have filled the stadium.
Even without the American commentary describing how O’Neill had “flipped out going for a good grind” and, “the switch flip got away from him,” the uber-cool song selection, an auditory replica of the clothing most of the competitors were wearing, gave the area an air of cool sophistication.
Whenever a new Olympic sport is introduced, traditionalists roll their eyes, but judging on the demonstrations, Olympic skateboarding will be a hit.
O’Neill has been Given a New Deadline to Leave the Country.
He’ll call his daughter, whose sixth birthday he missed since he was out of town, and then return to the hamlet for one more dose of culture before returning to his regular routine.
Life as a professional skateboarder is quite typical, you know.
Yuto Horigome, 22, of Japan, won the event with a final round score of 37.18, beating out Kelvin Hoefler, 36.15, of Brazil and Jagger Eaton, 21 of the United States (35.35).
