When Tony Hawk landed the first 900 at the X-Games in 1999 it felt like the pinnacle of skateboarding had been reached. Fast-forward 15 years and now we have a literal child dropping THREE of them back-to-back-to-back.
This 9-YEAR-OLD hit back-to-back-to-back 900s at Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert
HOW?!
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
This is a clip of Ema Kawakami, who competed at Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert over the weekend. The Japanese phenom has been skating since the age of four, and already is turning the heads of everyone in the sport. Competing at Vert Alert was more or less a proof of concept. An opportunity to see whether or not he could hang in major international competition — and Ema succeeded beyond everyone’s wildest dreams.
Ultimately the nine-year-old finished 6th, even with these astounding three 900s — but it was enough to get an invite to the X-Games later this summer. Now the youngster’s Instagram is littered with skateboarding legends all stopping by to wish him luck, and marvel at the feat from over the weekend.
If your jaw isn’t on the floor seeing a literal child do this, I don’t know what to tell you.
See More:
