Keegan Palmer on winning at the Paris Olympics and teaching kids how to skateboard in the UAE

Young people in the UAE got a golden opportunity to pick up some skateboarding tricks from the two-time Australian American Olympic gold medallist Keegan Palmer, who returned to the Aljada Skate Park in Sharjah to coach and mentor children. Over the weekend, many of them had the opportunity to attend exclusive masterclasses and meet-and-greet sessions, and participate at competitions at the facility.

Some even got an opportunity to pose with Keegan’s gold medal for photographs and get their skateboards signed by the athlete.

It was three years ago that the 21-year-old was appointed the brand ambassador of Aljada Skate Park, the region's largest and most innovative skate park. Since then he has visited the country three times a year, every year to try and create his own legacy in the region.

Keegan, who grew up in Australia, scored the gold at the inaugural men's park skateboarding competition in Tokyo in 2020. Earlier this year, he cemented his status as an unbeatable skateboarder by scooping the gold at the Paris Olympics 2024. At the competition, his winning run was his first in the final, which set an early benchmark that nobody could match.

City Times caught up with him to ask him about his experience. Here are excerpts from the interview

Why did you start coming to the UAE?

After winning the gold in the men's park skateboarding competitions at Tokyo 2020, my goal was to try to create skateparks and communities in places that didn't have it. This opportunity presented itself and I know that the skating community here was very small.

Ever since that time, three years ago, this park has grown by leaps and bounds. To come back here and see the kids get better and better every time is awesome. And this is what I love so much about what I do.

Back when the skate park began, there are kids who I taught how to balance on the skateboard. This year, some of them are doing tricks that I do. And I think that is what keeps drawing me back, wanting to come back and see everyone, check in on everyone, have them ask me questions so that I can teach them something new. I was that kid that grew up in Australia in a very small town. And when the professionals would come, I'd be so excited. So I know that feeling of being a kid and learning from those who excel at the field.

What do you think of the skating community in the UAE?

Since the first time I came, the skating scene in the UAE has exploded ten times. It's just insane because the kids are doing tricks that I do. It just proves that when you have the right structure behind you, it helps you to get better and you can really start going place.

How was it preparing for the Olympics?

In 2018, they announced that two years from now, we're going to be at the Olympics. And for us, it kind of threw us all for a loop and everyone was trying to figure out what country they will represent because of mixed heritages and so on.

But we didn’t do any specific preparation for it because we've been skating our whole lives. For the Tokyo Olympics I was just happy I qualified. I wasn't winning a lot of contests at the time so I didn't really expect to win the Olympics. And I ended up doing it, so it was a crazy feeling. Paris was definitely a little bit more stressful. Just because I won last time, and everyone's chasing the top dog.

The nice thing about skating is we don't have such a strict schedule like football or other sports. It's almost like our practice is just going to the skatepark with our friends. I work a lot better in very short sprints. So I would skate for an hour and a half once a day every day in the lead up to the Olympics.

What do you love about skating?

I think what makes it exciting for me is the fact that every time I stand on my skateboard I can go learn something new. And I don't think there are a lot of sports out there where you can go do it and learn something new every time. The example I use is like an artist drawing on a canvas. Once you get past being a beginner, you can start to express your feelings. It becomes very creative, exciting, and fun.

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