Flying Australian teen Keegan Palmer claimed the inaugural men’s park skateboarding Olympic gold medal in stunning fashion with two giant scores in the final on Thursday.
Palmer, 18, threw down the gauntlet with 94.04 points in his first run before incredibly bettering his score to 95.83 in his third and final routine.
“I put in a lot of hard work over the last couple of years,” said Palmer.
“It paid off today and I’m so grateful to be able to bring the gold back to Australia. It means the world to me because that’s where it all started.”
The San Diego-based Aussie pulled some huge air at Ariake Urban Sports Park and he finished well clear of Brazilian silver medalist Pedro Barrios’s 86.14 and American Cory Juneau, who claimed bronze with 84.13.
“I just went in planning to put down a solid run in the first run, and then work on making it better if I needed to,” said Palmer.
“I can’t believe I’m here now. I put a lot of hard work into that one run and it paid off.”
American Heimana Reynolds, the world No. 1 and reigning world champion, did not reach the final after failing to complete any of his three rides in qualifying.
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