Kokona Hiraki

Kokona Hiraki
Personal information
NationalityJapanese
Born (2008-08-26) 26 August 2008 (age 15)
Kutchan, Hokkaido, Japan[1]
Home townTomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan[2]
OccupationSkateboarder
Years active2019–present
Japanese name
Kanji開 心那
Hiraganaひらき ここな
Sport
CountryJapan
SportSkateboarding
PositionRegular-footed
Rank1st (June 2024)[3]
EventPark
ClubHot Bowl Skate Park (Sapporo)
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals2020 Summer Olympics: Women's park – Silver
World finalsWorld Skateboarding Championship 2023: Women's park – Gold
National finals
  • 3rd Japan National Skateboarding Championships 2019: Women's park – Gold
Medal record
Women's park skateboarding
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Park
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Ostia Park
Silver medal – second place 2022 Sharjah Park
X Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Chiba Park
Silver medal – second place 2019 Minneapolis Park
Silver medal – second place 2022 Chiba Park
Bronze medal – third place 2022 California Park
Dew Tour
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Long Beach Park
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Des Moines Park

Kokona Hiraki or Cocona Hiraki[4][5] (開心那, Hiraki Kokona, born 26 August 2008)[6] is a Japanese skateboarder. She won a silver medal in the women's park event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,[7] becoming the youngest Japanese athlete on record to participate in the Summer Olympic Games.[8][9]

Career[edit]

Hiraki began skateboarding at age 5.[2] At age 9, she placed fourth in the women's park event at the 2nd Japan National Skateboarding Championships in May 2018, and participated in her first international event, the Vans Park Series Asia Continental Championship in August 2018, at which she placed first.[2]

Hiraki made her global competition debut at age 10, finishing seventh in the women's event at the 2018 Park World Championship (also called the World Skate Tour (WST) Park World Championship) of the World Skateboarding Championship in Nanjing.[10] Eight months later, she won silver in women's park at the X Games Minneapolis 2019 to become the youngest X Games medalist in history.[11] She earned her first first-place finish on the global circut at the Vans Park Series (VPS) Paris in 2019, several weeks before her eleventh birthday.[12]

At the 2019 edition of the Park World Championship in São Paulo, she finished outside of the women's finals in eleventh place.[7][13] Despite falling outside of the medal table at the 2021 Dew Tour in Des Moines, Iowa, US, Hiraki's fifth place finish at the event earned placement at sixth on World Skate's World Skateboarding Ranking and qualified her for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[8][14]

Hiraki made history as Japan's youngest Summer Olympic Games participant and medalist when she won silver at the inaugural Olympic women's park event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo on 4 August 2021.[15]

During 2022, she won silver at the X Games Chiba 2022 in Chiba, Japan on 23 April,[16] bronze at the X Games 2022 in Vista, California, US on 23 July,[17] and bronze at the 2022 Dew Tour in Des Moines, Iowa, US on 30 July.[18] and

Hiraki earned podium placement at five of the six qualification events for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Her results included a fifth-place finish at the World Skateboarding Tour (WST) Stop San Juan Park in San Juan, Argenina during May 2023, a third-place finish at the Olympic Qualification Series (OQS) Budapest in Budapest, Hungary during June 2024, and second place finishes at WST Park Dubai in Dubai, UAE during March 2024 and OQS Shanghai in Shanghai, China during May 2024.[19][20] The highlights of her qualification events were a silver medal at the Park World Championships Sharjah 2022 in Sharjah, UAE on 13 February 2023[21] and a gold medal victory at the WST Park World Championship 2023 in Ostia, Rome, Italy on 8 October 2023.[22][23]

At the X Games Chiba 2023, she won gold on the merits of her elimination round results after organizers cancelled the finals due to inclement weather in the form of incessant rain.[24]

In June 2024, Hiraki was first on World Skate's World Skateboarding Ranking for women's park.[3]

Records[edit]

As of June 2024, Hiraki holds the following records:

  • youngest X Games medalist[11] – 10 years, 11 months, 7 days[25]
  • youngest Japanese athlete to participate in the Summer Olympic Games[8] – 12 years, 9 months, 9 days[26]
  • youngest Japanese athlete to medal at the Summer Olympic Games[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Iwasa, Tomo [岩佐友] (4 August 2021). "日本最年少メダリスト育んだ「ガリガリ」 開心那、滑り続ける才能". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "【こんな人】スケボー12歳の開心那は「ココナツ」から 北海道生まれ". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 4 August 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b "World Skateboarding Ranking – Female, Park". World Skate. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  4. ^ White, Alex (5 February 2020). "The Top 10 Women & Non-Binary Skaters of 2019". Thrasher Magazine. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Cocona Hiraki". X Games. Archived from the original on 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  6. ^ "開 心那 （ひらき ここな）｜スケートボード｜選手プロフィル｜東京2020オリンピック・パラリンピック". Jiji.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Athletes: HIRAKI Kokona (Skateboarding)". Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "Skateboarder Kokona Hiraki to become Japan's youngest Olympian". The Japan Times. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. ^ "12-yr-old skateboarder Kokona Hiraki set to be youngest Japanese Olympian". Kyodo News. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  10. ^ Mercuri, Simona (1 November 2018). "Sakura Yosozumi, 2018 World Skate Women's Park Skateboarding World Champion". World Skate. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b "History of X Games". X Games (Media guide). Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Cory Juneau and Kokona Hiraki Take First Place at VPS Paris". Dew Tour. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Sao Paulo Park World Championship – Women Complete Results". World Skate. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings – Park, Female". World Skate. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  15. ^ a b Dawson, Alan (4 August 2021). "12-year-old skateboarding prodigy Kokona Hiraki just became the youngest Olympic medalist in 85 years". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  16. ^ Sankar, Vimal (23 April 2022). "Olympic medallists and Japanese riders victorious at X Games in Chiba". Inside the Games. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  17. ^ DiCristoforo, Andrea (24 July 2022). "X Games Day Four News and Results". ESPN. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  18. ^ Tulloch, Ash (30 July 2022). "Sky Brown wins women's park event at 2022 Dew Tour as Gustavo Ribeiro takes men's street skateboard title". Olympics.com. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  19. ^ Merrell, Chloe (16 May 2024). "Classy Hiraki Kokona cruises through to semi-finals in first at Olympic Qualifier Series Shanghai". Olympics.com. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Skateboarding world champion Hiraki runner-up at Olympic qualifier". The Japan Times. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Eaton, Brown win historic gold medals at Park World Championships in Sharjah". Gulf Today. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  22. ^ Merrell, Chloe; Jiwani, Rory (8 October 2023). "WST Rome Park World Championships 2023: Japan's Hiraki Cocona takes women's world title". Olympics.com. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  23. ^ Shefferd, Neil (8 October 2023). "Bottger and Hiraki claim titles at World Skate Park Championships". Inside the Games. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  24. ^ Kano, Shintaro (13 May 2023). "X Games Chiba 2023: Rain wipes out competition Saturday as Rayssa Leal, Hiraki Cocona, Keegan Palmer and Daniel Sandoval grab gold". Olympics.com. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  25. ^ Zucker, Joseph (4 August 2019). "X Games 2019: Full Results, Medal Winners and Best Trick Highlights". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 24 June 2024. Age calculated using athlete's date of birth and the event date, 2 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Skateboarding - Heat 1 Results, Ariake Park Skateboarding". Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Olympics.com. 4 August 2021. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021. Age calculated using athlete's date of birth and the event date, 4 August 2021.

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