Olympics - Snowboarding silver medallist Hirano to skate at Japan Open

TOKYO (Reuters) - Two-time Winter Olympic silver medallist Ayumu Hirano will take part in the Japan Open skateboard competition later this month, according to his management team.

Olympics - Snowboarding silver medallist Hirano to skate at Japan Open

(Reuters)





Hirano, who lost to American Shaun White in the men's halfpipe final in Pyeongchang last year, subsequently told Reuters he was eyeing skateboarding at Tokyo 2020.

White has also expressed an interest in taking part in the sport, which will be making its Olympic debut in 2020.

Hirano's management company Kinoshita Group posted on their website that the 20-years-old is scheduled to take part in the March 16 competition.

Japan Skateboarding Federation, however, refused to confirm Hirano's participation, saying that the official start list was yet to be finalised.

A good performance at the Japan Open by Hirano could be the first step into being included in Japan's Olympic team.

There are only 20 spots available in each of the men and women's park and street discipline for Tokyo 2020.

However, as hosts, Japan gets one berth automatically. The rest will be decided from the Skateboarding World Championships and the official world rankings.





(Reporting by Jack Tarrant; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)


Share
1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world