By Sean Miyaguchi,
Sora Shirai led a Japanese men's podium sweep and Yumeka Oda won her maiden women's crown as the host nation wrapped up the street skateboarding world championships in resounding fashion Sunday at Tokyo's Ariake Coliseum.
Underscoring its status as the sport's emerging powerhouse, Japan accounted for five of the six medalists and nine of the 16 qualifiers for the men's and women's finals.
Olympic champion Momiji Nishiya won women's bronze, while Kairi Netsuke and Tokyo Games gold medalist Yuto Horigome were second and third, respectively, in the men's final.
The eight-day championships served as a qualifying event for next summer's Paris Olympics, with crucial rankings points up for grabs.
The 22-year-old Shirai, currently Japan's male Olympic rankings leader, earned 95.66 points with his best individual trick on the way to a 276.81 total and his first world title. Netsuke received 273.60, while Horigome earned 273.28.
Total scores in the final combined each competitor's best of two runs and their two highest-scoring individual tricks out of five attempts.
American superstar Nyjah Huston saw his dominant run at World Skate events come to an end after falling on both runs and placing seventh, one spot behind 13-year-old Japanese prodigy Ginwoo Onodera.
Horigome, who is making his way back from a hip injury and just scraped into the eight-man final, bagged the day's highest individual trick score, 95.77, for his signature "Yutornado."
In his victory interview, a jubilant Shirai said the breakthrough championship followed long hours of preparation.
"I really can't believe it. I've worked hard toward this moment, so it feels good to be rewarded," the Kanagawa Prefecture native said.
The 17-year-old Oda earned a massive 94.80 points for her top score of the best trick section to claim first place with a 265.75 total.
She finished 3.85 points ahead of the defending world champion, Brazil's Rayssa Leal, with Nishiya totaling 245.76 for third.
The top qualifier for the women's final, 13-year-old Australian star Chloe Covell, stumbled on both of her runs before finishing strongly in the best trick section to place fourth.
Oda's second run of 84.22 was the highest score coming into the best trick section. Leal nailed her first two best trick attempts to take the lead before Oda brought the house down with her penultimate attempt.
"I'm really happy to have won at the world championships held in Japan. I was determined to win," said Oda, who is currently second in Japan's Olympic qualification standings behind Nishiya.
"I wanted to skate aggressively, so I'm glad I could win doing that. I wasn't able to take part in the Tokyo Olympics, so I definitely want to be there in Paris."
Japan's Coco Yoshizawa was fifth in the final, with Liz Akama sixth and Funa Nakayama seventh.
Related coverage:
Skateboarding: Host Japan wins 5 of 6 world championship medals
Skateboarding: Huston, Onodera lead men's field at street worlds
Skateboarding: Japanese men dominate world street quarterfinals
