Japan's Sakura Yosozumi wins battle of the teens for Olympic skateboarding gold


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Japan's Sakura Yosozumi won the battle of the teenagers to win the women's park and maintain Japan's grip over the Olympics skateboaring competition.

The 19-year-old came out on top in a dramatic final at Ariake Urban Sports Park to deny compatriot Kokona Hiraki and Sky Brown becoming the Games' youngest-ever gold medallists.

Yosozumi landed two 540s in her impressive first run and her top score of 60.09 points proved enough for victory ahead of teammate Hiraki, 12, and Brown, 13.

Yosozumi landed two 540s in her impressive first run, earning the highest score to vault to top place.

Yosozumi, whose first name in Japanese means cherry blossom, told reporters she was focused on riding three perfect runs in the finals.

"I guess you can say I've bloomed though, right?" the skater asked reporters with a smile.

Despite missing the title Hiraki, who scored 59.04, becomes the youngest Olympic medallist since French rower Noel Vandernotte in 1936.

Brown, now Britain's youngest medallist, threatened to snatch a dramatic win with a flawless closing routine but her 56.47 was only good enough for bronze.

"It was unbelievable," Brown said of her closing run. "Even right now it feels like a dream. It's insane.

"I'm so happy and so thankful and so proud of every one of the other girls, too."

Britain's Sky Brown reacts during the women's park final.
Britain's Sky Brown reacts during the women's park final.

In a final full of thrills and plenty of spills, world No 1 Misugu Okamoto, just missed a medal when she fell on all three runs in the final to finish fourth.

Japan also snapped up the men's and women's street titles and they have bagged five of the nine medals so far as skateboarding makes its Olympic bow.

Skateboarding is one of four debut sports intended to reach new audiences and in an ultra-young field, only eight of the 20 competitors were out of their teens. The podium had a combined age of 44. The combined age of all the women's skateboarding medalists in Tokyo is 86.

Both Brown, at 13 years and 28 days, and Hiraki at 12 years and 343 days were bidding to break an 85-year-old record to become the youngest champions in Olympic history.

They had a shot at bettering American diver Marjorie Gestring, who won 3m springboard gold aged 13 years and 268 days at the 1936 Games in Berlin.

For Brown, who is also Britain's youngest-ever Olympian, it completes a comeback just over a year after a horrific fall in training left her with skull fractures and a broken wrist and hand.

The accident would have ruled Brown, just 11 at the time, out of the 2020 Olympics if they had not been postponed for a year over the coronavirus pandemic.

"Everyone did amazing, everyone was doing so good, I'm so proud of everyone," she said on Wednesday, paying tribute to her friend Yosozumi.

"Just being on the podium with my really good friend is just insane."

Okamoto Misugu (above) from Japan is carried.
Okamoto Misugu (above) from Japan is carried.

Brown, born to a Japanese mother and a British father, opted to compete for Britain in 2019, saying the team offered a more relaxed approach.

In one of the most touching moments of Wednesday's competition, skaters from Australia and Brazil rushed to comfort Japanese skater Okamoto, who went into the finals in the lead but kept failing to land one of her most complicated tricks in the finals.

After Okamoto, 15, picked herself up and walked out of the bowl wiping away tears, other skaters lifted her onto their shoulders to celebrate her runs.

"We all just really love skateboarding," Yosozumi said.

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

Challenge Cup result:

1. UAE 3 faults
2. Ireland 9 faults
3. Brazil 11 faults
4. Spain 15 faults
5. Great Britain 17 faults
6. New Zealand 20 faults
7. Italy 26 faults

'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster

UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.

Leaderboard

63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)

64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)

66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)

67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)

68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)

69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)

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  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

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Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.

They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen 

They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.

The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.

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Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

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Brief scores:

Toss: Nepal, chose to field

UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23

Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17

Result: UAE won by 21 runs

Series: UAE lead 1-0

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LA LIGA FIXTURES

Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)

Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)

Friday

Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)

Valencia v Levante (midnight)

Saturday

Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)

Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)

Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)

Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)

Sunday

Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)

Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)

Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)

While you're here
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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While you're here
Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Updated: August 04, 2021, 7:38 AM`