By Sean Miyaguchi,
American superstar Nyjah Huston advanced to the men's final of the street skateboarding world championships in pole position, with 13-year-old home-grown sensation Ginwoo Onodera hot on his heels Saturday at Tokyo's Ariake Coliseum.
Three other Japanese men -- Sora Shirai, Kairi Netsuke and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Yuto Horigome -- will also contest the final when the eight-day championships, which serve as a qualifier for next summer's Paris Games, conclude on Sunday.
Australia's Chloe Covell earlier qualified first for the women's final, which will feature five Japanese skaters, including Olympic champion Momiji Nishiya.
The 29-year-old Huston finished the semifinal 2.96 clear of Onodera after totaling 266.90 -- a combination of the best of his two runs and his two highest-scoring individual tricks from five attempts.
Onodera nailed his last two attempts of the best trick section to move ahead of the third-place Shirai (263.31). Quarterfinal leader Netsuke qualified sixth, while Horigome, competing just a stone's throw from where he won the inaugural Olympic men's street skateboarding gold, claimed the eighth and final spot for the ultimate round.
"I was able to do everything I wanted on the first run," said Onodera, who is bidding to become the sport's youngest men's world champion. "I want to concentrate on what's in front of me and do everything I can to win."
In the women's semis, Japan's Yumeka Oda and Funa Nakayama rounded out the top three behind the 13-year-old Covell, who totaled 259.56 after posting the best quarterfinal score a day earlier.
"When I got the first run down, I was happy, as that was all I needed to do," Covell said. "When I landed the two best tricks that I needed to land, then I felt like I was calm and didn't have any nerves."
Oda scored 249.00, Nakayama earned 242.96, while the reigning world champion and Olympic runner-up, Brazil's Rayssa Leal, finished 1.14 points outside the top three.
Nishiya, who came third at the previous worlds behind Leal and Covell, totaled 238.04 to qualify for the final in sixth place.
"I wasn't feeling the best. I want to practice hard so I can raise my level in the final, starting with the run, and land my best tricks," the 16-year-old Nishiya said.
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