Everything you need to know about Olympic skateboarding

Paris, France – Skateboarding made its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you understand how it works yet. And with the opening ceremony just a few days away (Friday, July 26), now’s probably as good a time as any to start thinking about how the competition will be run, who’s competing, and how you can watch it.

There are four skateboarding events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Men’s street, men’s park, women’s street and women’s park.

The PARK EVENTSas you might expect, take place in a fairly traditional looking skate park. A large bowl contains various obstacles and features for competitors to perform tricks on and off of, and to help them gain speed. Both the men’s and women’s parks feature a preliminary round where skaters are given three 45 second runs, the best of which is used to determine who makes it to the finals. The finals are run much the same, with athletes given three 45 second runs to give their best effort. The person with the best run wins gold, simple as that.

In the STREET EVENTSrails, stairs and holes create an urban environment for skaters to showcase their skills. In both the preliminary round and the final, athletes have two 45-second runs to earn the highest possible score. They are then given five attempts to perform their best tricks. The top two scores from their five best trick attempts, combined with the best of their 45-second runs, form their overall score, which determines whether they advance to the final or, in the final, win a medal.