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'That is insane': Aussie skater wins historic gold in 'ridiculous' drama

andrew reid
·3-min read
Pictured here, a shocked Keegan Palmer after winning skateboarding gold at the Olympic Games.
Keegan Palmer stunned the world and himself with an incredible gold medal skateboarding display at the Olympic Games. Pic: AAP

Aussie teenager Keegan Palmer has set the internet ablaze after an absolutely stunning run to claim skateboarding gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Palmer put forward one of the performances of his young life to claim gold in the men's park - becoming the first Australian to win an Olympic medal in skateboarding.

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Palmer, who was born in the US and raised in Australia, produced an epic 95.83 with his last ride in the final to completely obliterate the field.

Brazil's Pedro Barros claimed silver with a score of 86.14 with American world No.2 Cory Juneau taking bronze with 84.13.

Palmer's gold medal saw the Aussies equal their best ever Olympic gold medal haul from the 2004 Athens Games.

Following a gold for Australia in the 1,000 metres men's double kayak final, Palmer's victory takes Australia's gold medal tally to 17 in Tokyo.

Seen here, Keegan Palmer celebrates after claiming gold in the men's park skateboarding.
Keegan Palmer celebrates after claiming gold in the men's park skateboarding. Pic: AAP

So dominant was the 18-year-old that the second highest of his three rides in the final - a 94.04 - would have also been good enough to win gold.

His extraordinary display lit up the internet as fans took to social media to heap praise on the Aussie teenager.

Fellow Aussie Kieran Woolley crashes into cameraman

Fellow Australian Kieran Woolley finished fifth with a best ride of 82.04 but he was at the centre of drama during the preliminary stages.

The first rider to take to the bowl in the second heat, Woolley was all power and air in a flawless performance highlighted by a 'judo' - where the rider grabs the nose of the board at the top of the ramp and kicks their front leg out.

His ride finished with a crash into a cameraman as time wound down, but it had no effect on his score.

Kieran Woolley is seen here after crashing into a cameraman in the preliminary rounds.
Kieran Woolley had a mishap with a cameraman in the preliminary rounds. Pic: Getty

"That was interesting, it was pretty sick to be honest," Woolley said of the incident.

"I hurt him a bit I think

"I had so much fun, and I'm glad all my friends killed it."

With a banker to his name, Woolley went for broke on his last two rides which both ended with falls.

Palmer went down on his first run in the last of the heats but made no mistake on his second, a 540 aerial the highlight as he ensured his progression.

with AAP

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