Straight from the street: The origins of skateboarding

A skateboard is a short, narrow board with two small wheels attached to the bottom of either end. Skateboarders ride on this apparatus to perform a series of tricks, including jumps, flips and mid-air spins. The sport of skateboarding will make its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

There are various theories about the origins of skateboarding, but it is generally held that the sport began in the 1940s on the west coast of the USA when metal wheels were attached to a narrow wooden board.

In the 1950s, plastic replaced metal as the material of choice for the wheels, and the first "roller surfboard" became commercially available, which in turn developed into the skateboard that we know today.

The sport was a big hit with the younger generation and soared in global popularity in the 1980s and '90s. Since the late 1990s, skateboarding has become an intrinsic part of street culture.

There will be two disciplines on the skateboarding program at Tokyo 2020: street and park. The competition will include both men's and women's events, with athletes demonstrating spectacular tricks in a festival atmosphere.

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