TOKYO — Youth was served to a global audience on Monday when two 13-year-old skateboarders fought to the final trick to determine the winner of the women’s street competition.
Momiji Nishiya of Japan looked to echo the winning performance of Yuto Horigome in the men’s competition at the same park a day earlier. She was just a few months older than Rayssa Leal of Brazil, an energetic sprite with flowing hair and a broad smile who was looking to become the youngest female gold medalist in Summer Games history.
Leal went first. She needed a big landing to slip past Nishiya on the scoreboard.