The 12 riders who will compete on the U.S. Olympic Skateboarding Team have been announced ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has officially announced the team of skateboarders who will compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer.
The riders provisionally qualified for the U.S. Olympic Skateboarding Team through the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS). New this Olympic cycle, the results of the two events (in Shanghai in May and in Budapest in June) counted 66% toward riders’ Olympic World Skateboarding Ranking (OWSR). (The other 33% came from points earned at other OWSR events between June 2022 and March 2024, such as World Championships.)
However, riders compete for quota spots for their countries, not individual berths. Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) has final say over which athletes make its Olympic team, so the USOPC had to certify the results of the qualification cycle.
At Paris 2024, 88 athletes will compete in skateboarding—44 men and 44 women, half in park and half in street. That’s eight more than competed in skateboarding’s debut at the Tokyo Olympics.
Each NOC can send up to three riders in each discipline. Thanks to its athletes’ strong OWSR performances, the U.S. will have three men and three women competing in each of street and park.
It’s not surprising to learn that all six park skateboarders representing the U.S. hail from California, given the discipline’s popularity there. Among the park and street riders on the team, Arizona, New Mexico and Florida are also represented.
Here is everything you need to know about the 12 skateboarders who will represent Team USA in Paris.Men’s Skateboard Street1. Jagger Eaton (Mesa, AZ)
Age: 23
OWSR: 4
Sponsors: Red Bull, Cariuma, The Heart Supply, Icy Hot, Delta, Samsung, Chipotle, IWC Schaffhausen, Polo Ralph Lauren
Eaton, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medal winner in street, was hoping to make history this summer by becoming the first skateboarder to make the podium in park and street at the Olympics—and one of the few to do it in any competition.
He was able to do so at the Olympic Qualifier Series event in Shanghai, winning the park competition and placing third in street.
At the Budapest competition, however, Eaton finished 16th in park and in street. He still came out as the top American—and No. 4 in the world—in street, but the third spot on the U.S. park team went to Tom Schaar, who leapfrogged Eaton in the OWSR with a second-place finish in Budapest.
Eaton is a podium favorite in street and could be the lone American to win a medal in what is a Japanese-dominated discipline. The top three men’s street riders in the world all hail from Japan.2. Nyjah Huston (Davis, CA)
Age: 29
OWSR: 6
Sponsors: Disorder Skateboards, Nike SB, Monster Energy, INK Games, Black Plague Brewing
Huston is widely regarded as the best street skateboarder of his generation and perhaps all time. He’s won 15 X Games gold medals, tied for the most all time, and six SLS Super Crowns.
There isn’t much out there that Huston hasn’t won, but an Olympic medal is at the top of the list. Huston competed in street’s debut at the Tokyo Games but finished off the podium in seventh.
Heading into Paris, Huston has a completely different mindset. He’s going out less, focusing more on nutrition and recovery. It will all be worth it for an Olympic medal. He’s also one of the United States’ medal favorites.
In 2021, Huston launched his own skateboard brand, Disorder Skateboards. In Paris, he’ll ride a board created specifically for the Games with Uncle Sam graphics.
