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Skaters Debut at Inaugural Olympics; Fans Hope for Acceptance

Reuters

   TOKYO - Skateboarding made its historic debut on the Olympic stage
   early Sunday, with men's street heats kicking off the sport's four-day
   competition under Tokyo's blazing sun.

   The inaugural event marks a turning point for skateboarding, which has
   its roots in youth street culture and has influenced everything from
   art to fashion.

   The men's street competition on Sunday will be a star-studded affair,
   with who's who of international skating competing.

   But all eyes will be on Nyjah Huston of the United States and hometown
   favorite Yuto Horigome, who will skate on a concrete course designed
   with rails and benches emblazoned with the five Olympic rings.

   By adding skateboarding to its roster, the International Olympic
   Committee hopes it can tap into its legions of young fans worldwide,
   who have built skateboarding into a multibillion-dollar industry.

   For skating giant Tony Hawk, the sport's inclusion into the Olympics is
   long overdue.

   Tony Hawk, who is in town to act as a TV commentator, tried out the new
   waterfront bowl in Ariake this week and said he was surprised it took
   so long for the Olympics to embrace skateboarding.

   "As a kid that was mostly lambasted for my interest in skateboarding, I
   never imagined it would be part of the Olympic Games," Hawk wrote below
   an Instagram video he posted earlier this week.

   Skateboarding, though extremely popular in Japan, is still discouraged
   in most parks and it's uncommon to see skaters cruising down a street.

   Just outside the skate park where the Olympic finals is taking place on
   Sunday, a poster taped to the exterior white fence banned skateboarding
   for locals.

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