Monster Energy’s Nyjah Huston Takes 1st in World Street Skateboarding Championships Rome 2022. And Team Rider Aurelien Giraud Takes 2nd in Official Olympic Qualifier Event for Paris 2024.
“It’s a good start to the year for sure. It was a good final and the level, and the progression are always so high. I’m always trying to keep up. This was great – great fans and great energy.” – Nyjah Huston
Street skateboarding
Street skateboarding is back in the Eternal City! Monster Energy congratulates team rider. Nyjah Huston on taking first place in the World Street Skateboarding Championships Rome 2022 this weekend. In the official Olympic qualifier contest. The 27-year-old from Laguna Beach, California, rose above an elite field of international riders with a dominant performance.
Huston was joined on the podium by 24-year-old team rider Aurelien Giraud from Lyon, France, in second place.
From June 29 to July 3, the World Street Skateboarding Championships Rome 2022 attracted almost 200 male and female skateboarders from across the world. As the first official qualifier event for skateboarding in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The street competition offered a chance to collect valuable points on the leaderboards maintained by World Skate.
The street course for the competition was created by expert park builders California Skateparks in a pristine location: Parco del Colle Oppio sports center, right next to the fabled Colosseum. The roster included almost 70 female riders and over 100 male skateboarders. Among them Olympic gold medalists Yuto Horigome and Momiji Nishiya. Amid grueling summer heat, Friday’s qualifiers required 10 hours to cut down the field of competitors to 32 semi-finalists.
Rome contest
Right in time for the Rome contest, organizers introduced a new scoring system: A rider’s best run of two is scored from 0 to 100. And the score is combined with two best tricks out of five. Also scored on a scale from 0 to 100. As a result, riders can build a final score between 0 and 300.
In the Men’s Skateboard Street Final on Sunday night, eight qualified finalists took on the technical street course under the spotlights. The crowd was in for a historic battle, as the finals came down to final trick attempts with scores hovering above the 90-point benchmark.
Kickflip frontside boardslide
Before coming to Rome, Huston had won the official street competition at legendary CPH Open in Copenhagen. After stepping off his board in Run 1, Huston followed through by putting down a perfect second run stacked full of difficult tricks: Kickflip frontside boardslide the long rail, 360 kickflip the bump, 180 switch crooked the gap rail, blunt kickflip the quarterpipe, Half Cab crooked into bank, kickflip backside lipslide the flat rail, 50-50 fakie the quarter, fakie kickflip the bump and Caballerial kickflip up the Euro Gap, switch backside nosegrind the Hubba, backside 180 nosegrind the rail and switch heelflip the quarterpipe earned Huston 93.00 points and the highest Run score of the entire weekend.
In Best Trick, Huston kept his momentum with Caballerial backside noseblunt slide the Hubba (90.77 points) and had the crowd on its feet with a difficult fakie kickflip nosegrind the Hubba, a trick he never landed in competition before, netting 93.11 points. On his last attempt, Huston landed a perfect switch heelflip nosegrind the Hubba for 93.32, elevating his overall score to 279.43 points for the win.
“It’s a good start to the year for sure. It was a good final and the level, and the progression is always so high. I’m always trying to keep up. This was great – great fans and great energy,” said Monster Energy’s Huston after his victory in Rome.
Skateboarding World Champion
A six-time street skateboarding world champion, Nyjah Huston represented the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Known as the winningest street skateboarder of all time, he is currently the only athlete ever to win X Games gold medals on five continents. After winning the first-ever X Games Real Street Best Trick competition in late 2020, Huston now owns 19 X Games medals in total (13 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze).
Also claiming a podium spot this weekend, Monster Energy’s Giraud came to Rome after recently taking first place at the FISE (Le Festival International des Sports Extrêmes) street contest in Montpellier, France, in late May.
The Hubba gap
After putting down a perfect first run in Rome on Sunday night, Giraud upped the ante on Run 2: Backside tailslide the flat rail into bank, big flip frontside boardslide fakie the rail, 360 kickflip the bump to bump, backside hurricane the Euro Gap rail, huge backside 360 ollie the pyramid to flat, hard flip frontside boardslide the rail and a huge hardflip over the Hubba gap for 92.15 points and an early lead.
When the action moved into Best Trick attempts, Giraud followed up by landing a hardflip late 180 over the Hubba gap for 85.57 points. On his third attempt, he finessed a perfect 360 kickflip to frontside noseblunt slide the Hubba for 91.98 points. And on his fifth and final attempt, Giraud stoked the crowd with a perfect hardflip late kickflip for 91.83 points and second place with a total score of 275.96 points.
International Spotlight
Giraud stepped into the international spotlight in 2015 by winning the iconic Tampa Am contest. He has since taken first place trophies in high-profile international contests such as Simple Session (2016 and 2017). Dew Tour (2019), FAR’n High (2019), and the French National Championships (2019). He represented France in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle. Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports. Athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink. It’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans.
