Momiji Nishiya, 13, Wins First Women’s Skateboarding Gold Medal at Tokyo Olympics

At 13 years old, Momiji Nishiya is now a trailblazer in her Olympic sport. On Monday, the Japanese Olympian became the first woman in history to win a gold medal in skateboarding.

The event made its debut at the Tokyo Games inside Ariake Urban Sports Park, where Nishiya scored 15.26 to finish first in the women’s street final. (Scoring for skateboarding is a little complicated, but in short, the top and bottom scores are dropped, and the middle scores are added together to arrive at the final number and determine the winner.) Fellow 13-year-old Rayssa Leal of Brazil earned the silver medal with a score of 14.64. And Japan’s Funa Nakayama, 16, took home bronze with a final score of 14.49. According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the finish is believed to be the youngest Olympic podium ever.

Nishiya’s victory at 13 years, 330 days old, makes her one of the youngest gold medalists in Olympic history. American diver Marjorie Gestring is still the youngest winner after claiming gold at the age of 13 years, 268 days, at the 1936 Olympic Games, USA Today reports.

“I didn’t think I could win, but everyone around me cheered me on so I’m glad I was able to find my groove,” she told The Guardian after the event.

Heading into the inaugural event, Nishiya’s medal chances looked bright thanks to her performance at the Street World Championships in Rome, where she earned silver on June 6.

Nishiya’s win completed a gold medal street-skateboard sweep on home soil for Japan. On Sunday, Yuto Horigome won the men’s competition to become the first-ever Olympic champion in the event.

Many of the competitors celebrated the performances in Tokyo as a shining example of the growth for women’s skateboarding, a sport that has been historically overshadowed by the men’s event.

“It’s going to change the whole game,” U.S. skater Mariah Duran told ESPN. “This is like opening at least one door to, you know, many skaters who are having the conversations with their parents, who want to start skating.”

“I’m not surprised if there’s probably already like 500 girls getting a board today,” she said.

On August 4, women’s skateboarding will continue with the park competition, featuring another 13-year-old phenom, Britain’s Sky Brown, and Team USA’s Brighton Zeuner, the youngest gold medalist at the 2017 X Games.

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