Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. Originating in the United States, with the first rough skateboards created as early as the 1940s, and the first skateparks constructed in the 1970s, this discipline has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years.

At the 129th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Rio de Janeiro, in 2016, skateboarding was approved as a new sport for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with two events for men and women, street and park. Street skateboarding focuses on flat-ground tricks, grinds, slides, and aerials within urban-like environments and public spaces. On the other hand, park skateboarding contains halfpipes and quarterpipes in a complex combination with ramps and course bends, in a space that may resemble an empty swimming pool.

At the time of its inclusion on the Olympic Programme for 2020, skateboarding was joined by the new sports of karate, sport climbing, and surfing. Skateboarding remained on the Olympic Programme for Paris 2024, as an optional sport for the host city. Los Angeles 2028 will introduce new changes to the programme, including the permanent addition of skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing as core Olympic sports.

As of 2024, five countries have medaled at Olympic skateboarding events, notably Japan, with nine medals and five golds. In the men’s competition, Japanese Yuto Horigome and Australian Keegan Palmer have won the two gold medals available in the street and park competitions, respectively, in 2020-2024. In the women’s competition, three skaters have won two Olympic medals – Kokona Hiraki (JPN), Rayssa Leal (BRA), and Sky Brown (GBR) –, but no female skater has yet won more than one gold medal.

Skateboarding is governed by World Skate (WS), the IOC-recognized organizational body for roller sports. World Skate resulted from the merger of the Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports (FIRS) and the International Skateboarding Federation (ISF) in September 2017, after the ISF’s involvement with the scheduled skateboarding events at the Japan 2020 Olympics was rejected. As of 2024, WS had 135 affiliated national federations.