Tony Hawk Supports Team USA’s Skateboarders in Tokyo Olympics
Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images Reading Time: 2 minutes
The man, the myth, the legend himself, Tony Hawk has made an appearance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “Elephant” from The Mask Singer really just couldn’t help himself when it came to trying out the skate venue… he had to try it out.
Hawk shared an Instagram video on July 22 that raised some questions, to say the least. In the video, there is a man seen absolutely shredding the Olympics venue. But, he’s not seen wearing anything that says Team USA on it. So how did he end up in the Tokyo Olympic venue?
The Olympics officially began on July 23, and will conclude on August 8. Skateboarding will be making its Olympic debut! In the Tokyo Olympics, there will be three other new sports, alongside skateboarding.
These other new sports are surfing, sport climbing, and karate. The Tokyo Olympics will also feature baseball and softball, which will be making their first Olympic appearance since 2008.
Is He in the Olympics?
Although it would be really cool to see Tony Hawk as an Olympian, he unfortunately was only visiting. He spoke in his Instagram comment about how him and Paul Zitzer were able to catch the last five minutes of Team USA & Japan mens street practice before they had to go to the NBC set.
This legendary skateboarder shared a caption to Instagram about how excited he is that skateboarding is now an official Olympic sport.
“I never imagined [skateboarding] would be part of the Olympic Games. It’s surreal to now be in Tokyo bearing witness to this milestone in the most unprecedented circumstances,” said Hawk. “A whole new generation will get to experience skateboarding with genuine public support and meaningful opportunity. I predict it will be one of the highlights from all of the Olympic Games coverage this year.”
Tony Hawk the Correspondent
It turns out that he is currently in Tokyo for the Olympics as an NBC Olympics correspondent. He’s working with NBC during the Olympics to tell stories about athletes, competition, culture, and history. We’re really hoping to see him do a segment about skateboarding, and skate culture!
The correspondent team Hawk is in will also include figure skating pair Tara Lipinski, and Johnny Weir, political correspondent Steve Kornacki, and broadcasters Mary Carillo, and Jimmy Roberts.
