Jagger Eaton Says its Amazing How the Olympics Shows the Beauty, the Legitimacy and the
Professional skateboarder Jagger Eaton put the United States in the history books by winning the first-ever bronze medal in men’s street in Tokyo three years ago with a broken ankle. Now, a wiser and more mature athlete is returning to the world’s biggest stage with new goals — and tricks, of course — as he’s set to compete in the men’s street final at the 2024 Paris Olympics this year.
There have been a lot of ups and downs in the Arizona native’s journey. The 23-year-old came off such a high after the third place finish in 2021, for things to result in a “tough comedown” that he says was hard to grasp at the young age of twenty. But taking time to eliminate the distractions by disconnecting helped him refill his love for skating, with hopes of being the first-ever U.S. skater to claim back-to-back Olympic medals in the discipline.
“Right now, I’m in a really good place,” Eaton told USA Today Sports, despite having his quest to become the first skater to qualify and compete in street and park at the Olympic Games come to a halt in June.
Prior to falling short of qualification, Jagger told Celeb Secrets in April that his biggest competition was skater Tate Carew, even though he sees him as “a little brother.” Tate wound up earning a coveted spot on the three-person park team and will be joining Gavin Bottger and Tom Schaar in the contest next week.
“I look out for [Tate] as much as I can. But again, he’s just as good as I am and he’s a big threat with Park,” Jagger shared with Celeb Secrets reporter Juliet Schroder in a media session at the Team USA Media Summit. “Me and [Tate] went to Dubai together before the World Championships last year for 12 days. We skated together, we spent every dinner together, every breakfast together. I got to pick his brain, he got to pick mine, and it’s just mutual respect. I look at that kid like a little brother, and when we put on that jersey together, we’re family.”
Regardless of whether or not he finishes on the podium this summer, there’s no denying that the Red Bull athlete’s talent is gold-medal worthy. Thanks to his technicality and incredible steeze, Jagger is one to watch in the future of skateboarding, and the sport’s newest wave of skaters are already looking up to him as a role model.
“Me and the younger skaters are really close. I try to offer advice where I can, but again, in skateboarding, skaters are just tough. There’s so much pride and respect in skating… there’s so much fear involved, and where I try to help is I try to help create a lifestyle to support skateboarding as a whole,” Jagger revealed to Celeb Secrets.
“What I mean by that is to control your distractions — like manage what you’re doing on a daily basis to help skateboarding. I think a lot of young skaters kind of fall out of line with that because there’s so many distractions.”
While skateboarding is new to the Olympic landscape, the sport has made a somewhat large impact in pop culture over the years thanks to athletes like Tony Hawk, Rob Dyrdek, Ryan Sheckler, and even Shaun White with their incredible talents. As skaters continue to push limits by adding more rotations and intricate tricks, Jagger hopes that the sport will be part of the Games as the years go by so people can see “the beauty, the legitimacy and the respect” of what it brings to sports.
“What I really wanted for skateboarding was for people to see the legitimacy of what we do. You know, I think I wanted to see that more than anything,” Jagger shared with Celeb Secrets. “There’s so much respect from skateboarder to one another, and I just wanted people to see the beauty and the legitimacy and the respect of what skateboarding brings to sports.”
“And that’s what I really feel like the Olympics is doing. As far as much more, beggars can’t be choosers. I got what I wanted. This is amazing that you guys are sitting here asking me these questions, because this is what every athlete dreams of in their sport. I’m just glad I have a small part in it.”
You can catch Jagger compete in the Men’s Street Final tomorrow, July 29th at 11AM ET on NBC and Peacock.
For more 2024 Paris Olympics coverage, click here.
What's Your Reaction?
ncG1vNJzZmiblaGyo7%2FEnKmerKNjsLC5jqOYoJ%2BVp3qmrdOopWarka7AbrXTrGSapZGvtq%2BzjKGmsGWknbJuu8uypKmhk6h6tLTOsKpmrJiaeqOxwK6rsmWknbJuuMSgoK2hnZawunnAp5tmrJiaerOx0qmcnKxdpLNuw8eaq2arm5bBpq7OmqmdoZ6ceqO%2ByKeerGWkpHq0vM6rq6xlla2wrcHSoq2eZw%3D%3D