Thirteen-year-old Momiji Nishiya, who on Monday became the youngest Japanese Olympic gold medalist after winning the women's street skateboarding, created an instant meme when she displayed her innocent and beaming "Momiji smile" for all to see.
"I want to become a very famous and well-known skater around the world," the second-year junior high school student was quoted as saying before the Tokyo Olympics.
Nishiya, whose credo is to always smile and have fun skating, seemed relaxed throughout the competition, even posing for the camera several times.
Influenced by her older brother Hayate, 16, Nishiya began skateboarding at just 6 years old. She learned the sport at a skate park in her hometown of Matsubara, Osaka Prefecture, where her father, Sho, 39, taught her skateboarding by studying videos of foreign skateboarders. Believing she wouldn't continue skateboarding if it wasn't fun, Sho allowed to her practice up to three to four hours a day but did not let her practice on rainy days.
At the tender age of 11, Nishiya finished fifth in the 2019 Japan championships. In the same year, she took second place in the X Games, a U.S. prize competition, and showed remarkable progress.
According to Daisuke Hayakawa, 47, the coach of Japan's Olympic skateboarding team, the secret of her strength lies in her "natural sense of balance."
Nishiya, who skates with a graceful economy of movement, came to perform with dynamic skills as she grew taller. She qualified for the Olympics after placing second at the world championships in Italy in June.
Although Nishiya competes on the world stage at only 13, according to her mother, Tomomi, 39, she is an "average junior high school girl" otherwise. Nishiya likes to watch comedy shows on YouTube and play video games for relaxation. She asked her parents for yakiniku grilled meat to eat after the Olympics.
On Monday, Nishiya was behind in the final, but bounced back and surged into the lead in her fourth attempt, piling up big scores in the "best trick" section of the event. Having won the gold, she said in tears, "I want to put the medal around the necks of my family members."
Asked about her future plans after the Games, the world's new "Momiji" said, "I want to participate in the Paris Olympics, and win."
Nishiya will surely show us another beaming smile three years from now.
--Support of friends
Funa Nakayama, 16, who won the bronze in the women's street skateboarding event Monday, has long been devoted to skateboarding with the support of her family and friends in her hometown Toyama.
Nakayama immediately became hooked on skateboarding after she rode a skateboard at a newly built sports park in the center of the city when she was a third-year elementary school student. She and her father, Hiroshi, 44, practiced together, and she won many junior competitions.
Nakayama was often absent from school when she was a junior high student due to overseas excursions, but all of her "childhood friends" helped her out by delivering school assignment handouts to her home. When she showed them her skateboarding skills at an event, they rolled their eyes and praised her.
As she had said before the Games that she would "skateboard to amuse the audience," the first-year high school student performed many difficult maneuvers. "I'm happy to win the medal," she said.
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