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WST DUBAI 2024 PARK FINALS

WST Dubai 2024 Park Finals The stage-setting for the women’s final couldn’t have been tee’d up any better: all 8 skaters made their first runs which also saw the first female 90+ score of the entire contest, with Japan’s Kokona Hiraki logging the first of two back-to-back 91 scores in her opener. Second runs took on a different complexion with five runs aborted by slams until first place qualifier Naia Laso fulfilled her destiny with the run of a lifetime which included no less than three 360 variations and a kickflip indy finisher which everybody knew was the likely winning run even before the 93 score came in. What this meant was that all seven of her competitors had a clear shot at taking her off pole position but given only Kokona Hiraki had posted a 90+ score hitherto it seemed like only she might, and when she uncharacteristically bailed on one of her opening tricks, Spanish victory was a foregone conclusion. A shy but mightily impressive star is born. In third came 13-year-old Japanese powerhouse Mizuho Hasegawa who seems to have appeared from nowhere having only made it as far as 48th at her WST debut in WST Ostia but blew minds here. For the Men’s division it would prove to be an Iberian repeat as Danny Leon won outright in his first WST final with his first run and only the second run of the contest itself which scored the only 90+ score in his division. In second came the flawless Gavin Bottger who made all three of his runs perfectly and as such being the only skater in either final to do so while in third came Rune Glifberg’s 16-year-old Danish protege Viktor Solmunde who is already better than his mentor was at his age, and was the fastest skateboarder in the park by far.

Park World Championships