Jagger Eaton signs skateboard decks ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics at Icy Hot PRO Experience … [+]
American skateboarder Jagger Eaton has already made Olympic history by winning the bronze medal in the first Olympic Street Skateboarding competition at the Tokyo Olympics. He became the first American to win an Olympic skateboarding medal.
But this summer at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Eaton is looking to make a different kind of history. He will be the first athlete to compete in the Olympics in both park and street skateboarding disciplines.
Such feats are not limited to Olympic sports. By winning the men's final of the 2022 Skateboard Park World Championships in February 2023, Eaton became the first skateboarder to win a world park and street title. (Eaton's street title came in November 2021, a few months after winning a bronze medal in street at the Tokyo Games.)
Eaton had hoped to qualify for both park and street at the Tokyo Games, but said he was disappointed that he couldn't perform well enough on park at the Dew Tour 2021, an Olympic qualifier. “It tore me to the core,” he said. He broke his ankle in the semifinals of the Street World Championships in Rome, but stomped off his last trick and was selected to represent the United States in street skateboarding at the Olympics.
After winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, Eaton revealed that he was competing with a broken ankle.
TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 25: Team USA's Jaguar Eaton competes in the Men's Street Skateboarding Qualifier … [+]
This time, Eaton changed the training process to qualify for both teams, with incredible results. He is No. 2 in the World Park Rankings and the second American behind Gavin Bottger.On the street he's 12 years oldth He is the second American in the world rankings after Nyjah Huston. The quota allows the U.S. to qualify up to three male athletes in each discipline.
“My whole training heading into Paris is to skate as much as I can, wrap myself in therapy and recovery, and make sure I feel great on my skateboard,” Eaton said on Zoom. “I had done a lot of training before Tokyo last time, but it didn't help me much on the board.”
Eaton learned what works for her, including prioritizing active flexibility and diaphragmatic breathing to keep her mind as healthy as her body. After all, he says, the best training is skating every day.
“This is not my first rodeo,” Eaton said. “I know what I need to do to get on both teams.”
At the highest technical level, park skateboarding and street skateboarding are completely different and require riders to focus on different riding styles. At the Olympics, street riders have two 45-second runs and five trick attempts, while park riders are focused on completing the race.
But more than that, competition schedules aren't designed for riders to do both. Most contests overlap with street practice and park practice. When Eaton is competing on the street, he often misses practice in the park, and vice versa. It also means his recovery time is limited.
“I have to do things completely differently,” Eaton said. “There's no comparison to what I do every day or what skaters who participate in one event do. In order to skate both disciplines every day, you have to be more rigorous and disciplined. I have to.”
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 17: Skateboarder Jagger Eaton poses for a portrait while skateboarding. … [+]
When we spoke, Eaton was attending a media event in New York City for Icy Hot with sprinter Elyon Knighton. Eaton recently joined a team that also includes soccer star Rose LaBelle, NFL tight end Darren Waller, tennis champion Sloane Stephens and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. There is.
Eaton and Knighton were giving the media a behind-the-scenes look at their grueling training routines at the highest levels of their respective sports.
“My biggest goal with this Olympic process and doing both sports is to show what’s possible in skateboarding,” Eaton said. “Icy Hot Jump is extremely important to be part of this journey. It's really fulfilling to be able to team up with some of the great athletes from other Olympic sports.”
Eaton's enviable list of sponsors and partners for the Paris Olympics also includes Red Bull, Kalima, The Heart Supply, Delta, Samsung, Chipotle and IWC.
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Two upcoming Olympic Qualification Series events will determine which athletes will qualify for Paris 2024 in the disciplines of skateboarding, breaking, sport climbing and BMX freestyle. The first event will be held in Shanghai from May 16th to 19th, followed by an event in Budapest in June.
