Nyjah Huston took silver in Men's Skateboard Street at the first X Games Sacramento, finishing behind his 16-year-old teammate. The Davis native scored 89.66 on a course inside Cal Expo, an hour from where he grew up.
A rough start gave way to a hometown roar
Huston's opening run went wrong fast. Two falls sent him off his board early. He recovered on his second attempt with a clean line and, after riding it out, shouted "NorCal, let's go!" to the Northern California crowd.
Onodera grabbed the lead on the final run
The contest turned on the third and last pass. Ginwoo Onodera stepped up and landed a 92.33, linking a switch frontside 270 bluntslide to fakie down the handrail with a kickflip frontside bluntslide to bigspin out. Huston began his own final run smoothly and seemed set to answer, then fell on his last trick and settled at 89.66.
Both athletes skated for Team New York in the new MoonPay X Games League format. Their showdown made the final a championship round between teammates and an emotional moment for a region that had never hosted a contest of this scale.
A victory would have tied Huston with BMX rider Garrett Reynolds for the most X Games career gold medals. Instead he remains the most decorated Skateboard Street competitor in the event's history, holding 11 career golds in the discipline alongside an Olympic bronze from Paris 2024.
"I don't think there's ever been a big contest in Sacramento," Huston told reporters earlier in the weekend. "So many great skaters came out of Sacramento, me coming out of Davis… these are the type of areas that need more events like this."
On a weekend where teenagers filled podiums, the sport's most successful street skater stood second and clapped for the 16-year-old who passed him. A homecoming ended with the next wave taking the top step.
