Some Chill And Extreme And Cool Photos Of Surfing And Skateboarding At The Olympics
Surfing and skateboarding made their debuts at the Olympics over the weekend in Tokyo, a historic moment for the Summer Games that was also extremely cool.
Surfing was kicked off with women's and men's events Sunday, but no medals have been awarded yet. Meanwhile, skateboarding was inaugurated with the men's street event Saturday, with Japan's Yuto Horigome taking the gold. The first women's skateboarding event will be held Monday in Tokyo, which is late Sunday for North America.
For surfing, it was more than 100 years in the making. Duke Kahanamoku, the father of modern surfing, won gold for swimming in the 1912 Olympics and, from the podium, expressed his dream that surfing would one day become part of the Games.
Becoming part of the Olympics is also a sign that skateboarding, with its counterculture roots, has made it to the mainstream.
"It's a pretty surreal juxtaposition of just my life in skateboarding," USA Skateboarding CEO Josh Friedberg told ABC News. "I still get harassed by security guards, and I'm skating in the parking lot behind my grocery store. So, you know, it's funny to have those two worlds colliding in such an interesting way."
While the weekend's events were a huge milestone for both sports, they were an even bigger thrill for the rest of us who got to watch. The athleticism was captivating, and the athletes looked fresh while doing it.
Here are some of the most epic photos taken as surfing and skateboarding made Olympic history.
UPDATE
Jul. 26, 2021, at 14:40 PM
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