Australia’s Keegan Palmer competes during the men’s skateboarding park finals at the 2024 Summer Olympics. | Photo Credit: AP
Palmer’s victory gave Australia its second skateboarding gold in as many days after 14-year-old Arisa Trew won the women’s park event, becoming the country’s youngest ever Olympic champion.
Keegan Palmer struggled to wrap his mind around his accomplishment after successfully defending his Olympic park skateboarding title at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“Wild, crazy feeling dude,” the 21-year-old Australian said Wednesday. “To be able to say I’m a two-time Olympian, let alone two-time Olympic gold medalist is a crazy, crazy feeling. I literally can’t believe it.”
Palmer scored a 93.11 to take his second gold medal.
His performance wowed a crowd that included skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, Snoop Dogg, and U.S. basketball star Devin Booker. Palmer seemed almost as excited about Snoop Dogg being in the stadium as he did about the hardware draped around his neck.
“I saw him after I landed my first run,” he said, “I pulled out my camera and had to start filming him.”
Palmer took gold in the sport’s Olympic debut three years ago in Tokyo. He led in the prelims Wednesday and then throughout the finals after posting the top score on the first of his three runs.
He’d already secured the gold medal before his final run and fell after also crashing on his second run. But his magnificent first run was all he needed to go home with another gold medal.
American Tom Schaar posted a 92.23 on his second run to win silver. He opened the finals with a 90.11 before completing more difficult tricks on his next go to secure second place.
Schaar, who is good friends with Palmer, enjoyed the camaraderie of the final.
“Loved just being able to skate with my friends,” Schaar said. “That’s what we do back home and that’s what skateboarding is supposed to be about.”
Brazil’s Augusto Akio won bronze with a score of 91.85 on his final run. He entertained the crowd by juggling before the prelims and did another routine after the first round while holding his skateboard in his mouth.
He narrowly held off his teammate Pedro Barros, who scored 91.65 to finish fourth.
Hawk, one of the sport’s greatest pioneers and the first to land the aerial 900-degree maneuver, raved about Palmer’s skills.
Source: sportstar.thehindu