Skateboarding attracted attention when it was used for the first time at the Tokyo Olympics.
At the Tokyo Games, Japanese athletes made great strides by winning gold medals in three of the four events for both men and women.
One of them is Nishiyakan, a girl street player.
The feat accomplished by the still-innocent junior high school student has become famous with the phrase ``A 13-year-old's great midsummer adventure.''
It's been 3 years since then.
Nishiya aims to win consecutive Olympics by focusing on “techniques that only he can do.”
(Sports News Department Reporter Shohei Matsuyama)
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◇◇Interview story◇◇
《Basic information》Nishiyakan player
table of contents
table of contents
attention
◇◇Interview story◇◇
《Basic information》Nishiyakan player
Gold medalist goes to high school student
Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics (2021)
Three years have passed since becoming the youngest gold medalist in history.
Now a 16-year-old high school student, Nishiya has grown to become the face of Japan's skateboarding world and actively participates in teaching skateboarding to children.
Nishiyakan
: ``For children, doing something they can't do is new to them, so teaching them that from the beginning often doesn't get through to them, and it's very difficult.But if I can teach them and they can do it, I'm really happy.'' I hope I can get them interested in skateboarding and skate together again."
Paris Olympics “Four Japanese athletes compete to represent the team”
Nishiya aims to win consecutive Olympics in Paris.
The road to that big stage was not a smooth one.
Skateboarding representatives are selected through a world ranking determined by points earned at participating international competitions.
A maximum of three athletes from each country or region can participate in one event, and among the Japanese street athletes, who are among the best in the world, there is a fierce battle between four athletes, including Nishiya, for that spot.
World Championship winner Yumeumi Oda and 3rd place Nishiya (December 2023)
Her number one rival is 17-year-old Yumeumi Oda, who is ranked 3rd in the world.
Oda, who specializes in techniques that use the "kickflip" to turn the board inside out, has a lot of momentum, having won the world championship last December.
Rinne Akama
Rinne Akama, who is 15 years younger than Nishiya, is ranked 5th in the world.
In addition, the 6th place in the world is followed by Fuena Nakayama, who competed with her at the Tokyo Olympics and won a bronze medal, and it is unclear who will be selected to represent her until the end of the selection tournament.
Nakayama Fuena
Fighting with rivals “Good stimulation”
Nishiya, who is leading the national team selection race against his rivals, is No. 1 in the world rankings as of February 2024.
He has shown outstanding consistency, finishing on the podium in four out of five races in the tournaments that qualify him for Olympic selection.
Nishiya is positive about competing against rivals who are similar in age and who are usually on good terms.
Nishiyakan: `
`Japanese teams are always at the top, so it's tough at times, but it's really motivating me.''
However, when I asked him, ``Don't you want to lose?'' he replied, ``I do feel that way,'' showing his competitive side.
Techniques that no one else has done
In order to survive in the world's most competitive national team competition, Nishiya is focusing on techniques that use "switches."
Nishiya normally skates with his left foot in front of him, which is his ``regular stance,'' but he reverses this into a ``goofy stance,'' in which he skates with his right foot in front of him.
Left foot forward “Regular stance”
Right foot forward "Goofy stance"
If you use the opposite stance to your dominant foot, the difficulty level of the same technique will suddenly increase.
Although there are many male athletes who use this technique, there are very few female athletes in the world who can perform the switch technique.
If you learn this, you can expect high scores, and above all, you will get closer to the ideal skiing that Nishiya is aiming for.
Nishiyakan:
``I started practicing switch because I want to do techniques that no one else has done.I think it will increase the variety of techniques and have a good effect.''
Persistent “originality”
The sport of skateboarding is not only important for the Olympics.
Apart from the Olympics, there are other tournaments that attract worldwide attention, such as the X Games, and Nishiya also has a major goal of creating a video work in the United States, called a ``video part,'' that collects his techniques.
Still, she has a special feeling for the Paris Olympics, saying, ``I want to skate and it's an event I want to compete in.''
Nishiyakan
: ``Everyone has a completely different style, such as doing techniques that no one else does or using courses that no one uses, so I want you to see that.I want you to keep creating more and more original techniques, and by the time of the Paris Olympics. I want to try it.”
For Nishiya, skateboarding is simply an expression of his own style and individuality.
Pursuing that goal with an unwavering belief has led to my dream of winning consecutive Olympics as a teenager.
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In addition to participating in the Paris Olympics, Nishiya had one more goal for 2024.
That is ``doing your best on the test.''
Especially when I entered high school, English conversation was something I talked about as something I wanted to work hard on.
I want to communicate with players from overseas, and because I sometimes get interviewed in English if I win at an international tournament, I am working hard on my studies, saying, ``It would be cool if I could speak.I want to talk to various people around the world.'' Masu.
By the way, regarding the test score, she said with a smile, ``English is pretty good. Oh, and English is good too.''
《Basic information》Nishiyakan player
▽Date of birth: Born August 30, 2007
▽Birthplace: Osaka
▽Main achievements:
・Women's street gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
・World Championship 2021 Silver medal, February/December 2023 Bronze medal
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