"Urban sports" caused a big boom at the Tokyo Olympics a year ago.
The IOC = International Olympic Committee has adopted sports that are popular with young people such as skateboarding and sport climbing for the first time in Tokyo, and it has been decided that Breakin will be added as a new sport in the next Paris.
One year from Tokyo, and less than two years before the opening of the Paris Olympics, I have been exploring the current locations of urban sports athletes.
Breakthrough of skateboard medalists
At the Tokyo Olympics, a skateboard that won a total of five medals, including three gold medals in the second category of "Street" and "Park."
The medalists are evolving further a year later.
High-level women's battle
Nishiya Kabuki, the youngest Japanese gold medalist in history, won his first victory in the world's best action sports competition "X Games" held in the United States in July, and is a major player following the Tokyo Olympics. I won the international competition.
And Kaede Nakayama, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, won the Italian international tournament, which is the first selection for the Paris Olympics.
Women's Street will be the centerpiece of these two in the world.
At "Park," Sakura Yosozumi, a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, is second in the X Games in July and won the tournament in Chiba in April, showing stable power.
We have focused on refining the height of the air, which has been an issue since the Olympics, and further improved the degree of perfection of sliding.
All the female medalists are likely to play a central role in the competition for the Paris Olympics, with silver medalist Kaishinna also on the podium in all the major tournaments he has participated in so far.
Yuto Horigome To the dream of consecutive victories
Yuto Horigome, the first champion of the Olympic Games, will lead the men's street.
At the X Games Chiba Tournament in April, which has been the actual battle since the Olympics, he won the championship by showing off two new techniques, and also won the first round of the tour "Street League" where top professionals gather in July.
Also, at the X Games held in the United States in July, he won the 3rd place on the street and won the event called "Real Street Best Trick" which is not an Olympic event, and he is demonstrating his ability as an ace.
Aiming for the second straight victory in Paris and the third straight victory in Los Angeles, the visibility seems to be good, saying "I want to evolve more and make it more exciting."
Nova skaters one after another
Furthermore, in the Japanese skateboarding world, new stars have appeared one after another in the past year alone.
Yumeumi Oda With the regrets of the Tokyo Olympics as a spring
15-year-old Yumeumi Oda has improved her abilities at once on the women's street.
She is a first-year high school student in Nagoya, who specializes in tricks using "kick flips" that turn the board upside down.
After defeating Nishiya and Nakayama in the urban sports tournament held in Yokohama in June, he finished third in the X Games in July.
She is aiming for the stage in Paris with a strange feeling, "I missed the participation in the Tokyo Olympics, but I want to win a medal in Paris."
Also pay attention to the growth of teens
At the women's park, we are paying attention to the 14-year-old Hina Kusaki.
She won the Japan Championship for the first time last year and won the Japan Open this year in a row.
Her speedy sliding, high air, and the strength of her heart, which the people concerned describe as "strong against pressure", are one of the things to watch in the future.
And on Men's Street, 16-year-old Daiki Ikeda and 15-year-old Otoko Sasaki are showing remarkable growth in the same grade.
Ikeda, who was already on a skateboard at the age of two, finished second at the X Games Chiba Tournament.
Sasaki, who started living with her friends in Aichi prefecture to concentrate on her skateboarding practice, won the Japan Open in May.
Keep an eye on how far the two skateboarders will dig into the Paris selection race.
To the battle over participation "3 slots"
It's not uncommon for young players to suddenly perform difficult tricks and surprise others when watching domestic competitions.
The maximum number of qualifications for the Paris Olympics is "3" for each event in each country / region.
Keep an eye on the battle for representatives that begins in earnest.
BMX Rim Nakamura goes to revenge
In BMX freestyle bicycles, Rim Nakamura is aiming for the revenge of the Tokyo Olympics, which finished fifth.
At the X Games in April, she showed her skill by making full use of her long-staying jump, but she did not improve her ranking and finished 6th.
She said, "She wanted to attack, but she slipped. I didn't get good results at the Olympics, I thought this time, but I want to make use of it next time." ..
Nevertheless, at the World Cup held in France in May, he won the World Cup for the second time, overtaking the gold medalist of the Tokyo Olympics.
She said, "She could feel that she had definitely come."
Nakamura, who finished fifth in the X Games in July and started on the road to the Olympics again, continues to hone her skills towards the stage of her revenge.
Climbing Correspondence to new "composite"
Sport climbing will be changed from the Tokyo Olympics, which was held in the third event, to "composite", which is the second event of "bouldering" and "lead" in Paris, and "speed", which is performed in the single event.
Bouldering Japanese who show overwhelming strength
For Japanese men, the world's top-level players are competing in "bouldering".
Ace Tomoa Narasaki, Yoshiyuki Ogata and Kokoro Fujii who made it to the podium in 5 of the 6 World Cup races this season.
In the World Cup, Ogata won the overall championship of the year, Narasaki in 2nd place, Fujii in 3rd place and the Japanese team dominated the top.
Lead's Nova Daiharu Homma
In the other compound event, "Lead," 22-year-old Daiharu Homma is showing great success this season.
After winning the World Cup for the first time in a tournament held in Switzerland in July, he is in a position to aim for an overall victory of the year on the podium for the third consecutive tournament.
Looking ahead to the Paris Olympics, it will be interesting to see how boys can improve their performance in the second "comprehensive".
Will girls emerge as a new force?
On the other hand, for women, although Akiyo Noguchi, who won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, has retired, silver medalist Miho Nonaka is showing stable power as he is ranked second in the annual ranking in the World Cup this season as well.
The challenge is how young players such as 20-year-old Futaba Ito, teenagers Natsuki Tanii, and Ai Mori can improve their abilities and raise the level of Japanese players.
Sport climbing is contested in each event of "bouldering", "lead" and "speed" at the World Cup, but the second "composite" competition to be held at the Olympic Games will be held for the first time in Morioka in October. increase.
Looking ahead to the Paris Olympics, which is less than two years before the opening, we are paying attention to what kind of battle the athletes will fight.
The charm of urban sports is also in the program
The appeal of urban sports, such as the state of X Games in July, will be reported on the BS1 program "Urban Sports Fans."
Broadcast from 4 pm on July 31st.