Teen star Ginwoo Onodera lands ticket to Paris Olympics

Japanese street skateboarding sensation Ginwoo Onodera, 14, will make his Olympic debut after qualifying for the men's final of the Paris Games qualifying series on Saturday in Budapest.

Onodera, currently No. 1 in the world rankings, booked his ticket to Paris by finishing second in the semi-final behind his compatriot Yuto Horigome, gold medalist at the Tokyo Games.

“I managed to land both my run and my best trick on the first jump,” Onodera said. “I just want to focus on the current competition and win it.”

Four of the top five qualifiers for the final were Japanese, with world champion Sora Shirai fourth and Kairi Netsuke fifth.

With a maximum of three Olympic places per event for each country, based on world rankings, competition is fierce between the Japanese men and women.

In the women's street, Liz Akama, 15, made her Olympic debut by qualifying for the final alongside four other Japanese women.

Tokyo Games gold medalist Momiji Nishiya finished 15th in the semifinals and missed out on an Olympic ticket.

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