“I just wanted to give everything”
What makes an Olympian a champion is a question which many have tried to answer.
Horigome didn’t address the subject directly but as he explained why he decided to commit once last time to a Paris bid, he revealed qualities he no doubt used to set him apart on the concrete of Tokyo and again, in Budapest three years later.
“When skateboarding was included in the Olympic programme, and I won the gold medal, everything changed for me. My environment changed, and it had a huge impact on me. I didn’t want to let that go. If I had an even 1 per cent chance, I wanted to skate until the end.
“Of course,” he continued, “with my results it was unlikely I would qualify.
“It wasn’t something I could do easily. But I thought, I’ve come all this way, so there was no other option but to win. Even though first place doesn’t guarantee it, I just wanted to give everything I could without any regrets.
“The Olympics is not the reason why I’m skateboarding. My core is unshakable. I like everything about skateboarding, including its culture. I respect it and started skateboarding before it became an Olympic sport. But that doesn’t change the fact that it impacted me a lot and I think the Olympics are incredibly influential.”
Gratitude, humility and a significant helping of hunger: together they combined to pull Horigome through. Now, the Japanese champion will have the chance to become the first-ever back-to-back men’s street Olympic gold medallist on Saturday 27 July, when the skateboard event will be underway in Paris.
The challenge before Horigome won’t be easy. The field is a deep one. The United States, a powerhouse in skateboarding, will be represented by superstar Nyjah Huston and bronze medallist Jagger Eaton; France will have Aurélien Giraud for their cause. Then there are Horigome’s prodigious compatriots led by 14-year-old Onodera Ginwoo, who will be battling those twice his size and age.
It seems, however, that whatever the magnitude of the task in wait, Horigome is beckoning it closer.
Gone are the lingering anxieties that fed on a fear that if he didn’t make it to the Games his reputation might be in doubt and in its place is the desire to do one thing, and one thing only.
“I want to do my best at the Olympics,” Horigome concluded. “With a focus on winning.”
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