When Tony Hawk, a skateboarding icon and perhaps still the biggest mainstream star in the sport at age 55 — he celebrated his birthday on Friday — was asked for his opinion about Japanese skateboarders by Japanese media in Chiba on Saturday afternoon, he gave an answer you might expect under the circumstances.
“I think Japanese skaters are among the best,” Hawk said. “Some of them are the most progressive, the most consistent, the most exciting, and I feel like Japanese skateboarding, it’s come of age. They’re the ones to beat now.”
It was more than a boilerplate response to appease local fans. That was apparent a few hours later when Japanese women claimed all but two of the first six skateboarding medals awarded at X Games Chiba 2023.