Six countries were represented by eight skateboarders in the Men’s Street Final at Dew Tour Des Moines, but not without disruption. In spite of a heavy rainfall mid-event, the top World Skate ranked skater, United States of America’s Nyjah Huston, reemerged after the break in the weather to seal the deal.
The street format returned to full for the final, with overall points combining the best four scores between two, 45-second runs and five individual best tricks. However, the weather rolled in immediately after the first two runs and put the contest on hold before the individual trick portion could continue.
Earning the highest combined scoring runs was Japan’s Yuto Horigome, between a 9.06 and 8.16 (scored out of possible 10). Yuto’s best run started switch into a frontside taiłslide then hit a bump to lipslide to line up for an incredible 360 flip to 50-50 on the 11-stair hubba.
Only halfway thru, Yuto landed a nollie 270 boardslide to set up for another nollie 270 to backside lipslide on the 7-stair handrail before ending his run with a nollie alley-oop backside 180 to switch backside 50-50. Yuto also came out after the rain with a big surprise sending a switch frontside 180 to backside 50-50 onto the 11-stair hubba.
Nevertheless, Huston had four different scores break into the 9-point range, which made him nearly impossible to beat. After landing an incredible first run, he one-upped himself by finishing his line with a half-cab to backside smith grind to backside 180 out of the 11-stair hubba to shock everyone.
Huston followed it up in the individual trick section on the same 11-stair hubba stomping a half-cab backside noseblunt to fakie, a switch heelflip frontside tailslide, and finally a switch heelflip frontside 5-0 to earn the second highest score of the event, a 9.56.
“It’s a sick time for skateboarding, and I can’t wait to get [to the Olympics]” said Huston, 5-time World, and previous Dew Tour champion, looking forward to becoming an Olympian. When asked about the adjustments he made to win on the day, Huston responded, “I tried to give myself to room with the points… to give myself less pressure to land my final trick. I hadn’t landed the switch heelflip frontside 5-0 yet in practice, and never on anything that big.”
Rounding out the podium under Huston and Yuto was the Frenchman Aurelien Giraud. Giraud went huge with his trademark tricks, including hardflips to frontside boardslides, big hardflips over gaps, a gapped out 360 flip to 50-50, and his most impressive, a 360 flip gapped out to nose grind on the Mountain Dew can hubba.
Though not on the podium, Jamie Foy had a huge result in the event, too. Foy managed to work his way up in point rankings with a fourth-place finish to provisionally qualify him to skate in the Tokyo Games. The only thing in Foy’s way now is the World Skate Street World Championships to come, where he could be dethroned of his role if a lower-ranked USA teammate outplaces him and takes a podium finish.
For now, we will have to consider the four tricks Foy landed in the individual trick section, proof of him deserving an Olympian status. Foy landed a 180 to switch frontside feeble on the big A-frame rail as well as a kickflip frontside 50-50, and he managed a fakie frontside crooked grind on the 7-stair handrail in addition to a fakie kickflip 50-50.
2021 Dew Tour Des Moines Street Final Results
1.) Nyjah Huston, 37.05
2.) Yuto Horigome, 35.58
3.) Aurelien Giraud, 35.35
4.) Jamie Foy, 31.28
5.) Vincent Milou, 28.99
6.) Felipe Gustavo, 27.84
7.) Manny Santiago, 17.55
8.) Shane O`Neill, 10.63
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