Yuto Horigome smiles while he shows his gold medal after the news conference in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (Pool photo)

       TOKYO -- "I'm so happy that I still can't believe it," said Japan's Yuto Horigome, the first-ever Olympic skateboarding champion during a news conference on July 26, a day after he won the gold medal in the men's street skateboarding competition.

       As the event was held at a venue in Tokyo's Koto Ward, where the 22-year-old skateboarder was born and raised, Horigome commented, "While I was happy that everyone cheered me on, I felt pressure that I absolutely couldn't make a mistake."

       Discussing his feat of becoming the first Olympic skateboarding champion as the sport made its Olympic debut, Horigome said, "I believe I was able to showcase the fun and coolness (of skateboarding) to people who didn't know (the sport). It was a meaningful, major event." He also sent a message to other skateboarders, saying, "I hope they don't forget to have fun and strive to achieve their dreams."

       Regarding the T-shirt he wore during the competition, Horigome said that he decided to go with it about a year earlier, saying, "As the design including Mount Fuji is very Japanese, I wanted to coordinate it with my board's graphics." The T-shirt has since become popular and the manufacturer is now running low on supplies.

       (Japanese original by Shohei Kawamura, Sports News Department)

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