At the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 held on September 25, 15-year-old Mizuho Hasegawa captured the gold medal in the women’s park skateboarding event with a top score of 94.03. The competition format consisted of four runs per athlete, with the final ranking based on the highest individual score.

Hasegawa delivered a consistent performance, starting with a steady base run scoring 88.83. Her second run, however, was the defining moment of the event. Displaying remarkable speed and height, she executed a flawless trick featuring a full board spin caught with her hand mid-air. This run earned her the winning mark of 94.03, well above the second-place score of 85.15 posted by Taiwan’s Lin Yi-fan.

Ranked number one globally, Hasegawa’s success is the result of steady progress fueled by early inspiration. She credited Misugu Okamoto—who won bronze at the same event—for sparking her passion for skateboarding after watching Okamoto compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Despite narrowly missing qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Hasegawa used the setback as motivation to intensify her training regimen, focusing on core strength and technical mastery.

Her ascent in the sport is highlighted by a runner-up finish at the World Championships in March and a victory in the park event at the World Skateboarding Tour’s World Cup Rome in June, which was a qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Her June performance notably outscored all three Paris Olympic medalists, signaling her rising dominance as she approaches the next Olympic cycle.

In the men’s park event on the same day, 15-year-old Izuru Nagahara of Hakuba Junior High School in Nagano Prefecture claimed gold with a score of 88.96. After placing third in the qualifying rounds, Nagahara entered the final motivated by a personal goal: to outperform his older brother, Yuro Nagahara, a silver medalist at the previous Asian Games and a competitor at the Paris Olympics.

Despite suffering a left knee injury a month before the competition that limited his training, Nagahara committed himself to rehabilitation following encouragement from his brother. His winning performance featured a signature massive aerial trick performed near the audience, which along with flawless first and second runs, helped him secure the top podium spot.

Nagahara began skateboarding at the age of two and described the gold medal as his first significant victory over his brother. Looking ahead, he expressed his ambition to compete alongside his elder sibling in future Olympic Games.

Both Hasegawa and Nagahara’s achievements underscore the growing prominence of skateboarding in the Asian Games, with young athletes poised to make significant impacts on the sport’s international stage.