"I will become a skateboarding icon" AG's Kang Jun-ee achieves another victory at the prestigious SLS

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Kang Jun-ee (18, Red Bull), who won a gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and helped popularize skateboarding, has claimed his second victory of the year at the Street League Skateboarding (SLS) event, widely regarded as the most prestigious competition in the world.

Kang took top honors with a score of 36.4 points in the men's final of the 2026 SLS Tokyo, held on the 14th at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

The SLS is a regular tour event that visits major cities around the world, where the world's top skaters compete for supremacy. Kang secured his second win by outperforming home-team Japanese athletes, including Onodera Kinue (36.3 points) and Netsuke Gairi (35.9 points).

Even before the Asian Games, Kang had stood atop numerous podiums this year, including Battle of the Champions Macao, Street League Skateboarding Downtown LA Takeover, X Games Sacramento Best Trick, and X Games Chiba Street Best Trick.

In particular, he once again experienced a moment of triumph after becoming the first Korean to win at his SLS debut event held in Los Angeles, United States, last April.

The skateboarding street discipline is an event where athletes perform tricks on a course featuring structures modeled after urban elements such as stairs, rails, and benches. In the SLS, competitors perform two "runs," during which they freely navigate the course within a time limit, and five "tricks," showcasing single high-difficulty maneuvers. The final ranking is determined by summing the four highest scores.

Kang executed his most difficult trick to edge out Onodera by 0.1 points, securing a comeback victory.

Kang, who is having an outstanding year, received the Star Award at the 2026 Futures Star Awards ceremony held on the 26th of last month at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. At the time, Kang said, "Sometimes people recognize me (after my Asian Games gold medal). So it feels amazing, and I am grateful that people are starting to notice me little by little. I feel thrilled every time someone recognizes me. It makes me happy and gives me strength. I plan to work hard so that even more people can recognize me."

He also expressed confidence, stating, "I gained a lot of confidence after this Asian Games ended," adding, "I think I will be able to feel less nervous in big competitions and achieve better results."

He is moving forward with bigger dreams. Kang stated, "While preparing for other competitions, I am practicing as usual. (Despite the Asian Games gold medal) I am trying to live as if it were before a competition. I am trying not to become too arrogant about my performance at the Asian Games," and vowed, "As an athlete, I want to work harder to become an icon of skateboarding."

In the women's division, Shin Ji-yul (Samrangjin Middle School) placed third with a score of 30.9 points in her SLS debut, making it onto the podium.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original