Tom Schaar, 12-Year-Old Skateboarding Prodigy, Lands First Ever 1080° Turn, Beating Out Shaun White [VIDEO]
Tom Schaar just made skateboarding history: The 12-year-old landed the 1080° turn, beating out Shaun White to be the first ever to do so.
It was the hardest trick I've ever done, but it was easier than I thought, Tom told TNT magazine.
I'm pretty stoked. Best day of my life, said the boy, who has been skateboarding since he was 4.
A 1080° turn is completed by completing three full revolutions on the board in mid-air.
Tom, who comes in at just under 5 feet tall and weighs about 80 pounds, did the trick on his fifth try at the MegaRamp in Tehachapi, Calif.
I did it fifth try, which I thought it would take me three days of trying it 40 times. I was definitely high enough and I could tell I was definitely spinning fast enough and right about at the 720 (second spin), I saw the coping again and I was still two to three feet above the coping. I got around that last 360 and I was just amazed, he said according to Transworld Business.
Tom completed the trick again the very next day. Prolific X-Games champ Shaun White was widely considered to be the first one likely to land the trick, but Tom proved them wrong.
Tom's a little giant and a spinning machine, defending X Games Big Air gold medalist Bob Burnquist said. Amazing. I look forward to learning a lot from him in the future. All eyes on Tom!
Tony Hawk tweeted his congratulations to the budding star.
I've seen Shaun White try 1080s & Mitchie Brusco crash-land a few... Tom Schaar nailed it, he wrote to the young skater.
Last year Tom became one of a handful of skateboarders that could do a 900° turn.
Jeff Jewett, one of his trainers, said the young star's future is bright.
If he's getting 1080′s at 12 years old, I got no idea! It's going to be a lot of fun to watch, giving him the platform that is MegaRamp and letting him paint his own future on it is going to be incredible, said Jewett.
His mentor is pro skater and X Games medalist Bucky Lasek.
He plans on attending the X Games 18 this summer in Los Angeles, because he wants to skate the Big Air comp.
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