‘Paris, or a boys trip with Lando?’: Olympic champion Keegan Palmer has his Paris priorities in check
Keegan Palmer found a new level of fame after his Tokyo Olympic glory, so much so that he now receives messages of a boys trip from best mate, Formula 1 driver Lando Norris.
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When you are one of the biggest names in one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, it becomes necessary to juggle responsibilities.
Australian skateboarder Keegan Palmer has achieved almost everything in his sport.
At 21, he’s won multiple X Games gold medals, claimed the inaugural men’s park skateboarding event at the Tokyo Olympics and this week was named to again headline the Australian team in Paris.
But a message from one of his new best mates, Formula One star Lando Norris, forced the Aussie to quickly reassess his priorities.
“He just texted me the other day,” Palmer said. “They have a cool trip planned but it’s the day I will be skating at the Olympics.
“So I was like, ‘Paris, or a boys trip with Lando?’
“He’s probably the most famous person I know, or at least whose phone number I have.
“I was with him the entire (Grand Prix) week in Melbourne … 1000s of people waiting for him and having to take back entrances and stuff.
“It’s a whole different world for me. I would like to be that famous to see how it is but you can’t take it back once you’re that famous.”
Palmer might not consider himself famous but with more than 150,000 followers on Instagram and an Olympic gold medal, he is set to be one of the most-watched athletes in Paris.
Skateboarding will be making its second appearance at the Olympics and getting a chance to defend his title at the peak of his sport made it somewhat easy to turn down Norris.
“When it comes down to the competition side, the Olympics is pretty much the pinnacle,” Palmer said.
“We have X Games and a few other events but there are only two X Games a year and the rest are qualifying for the Olympics.
“If we didn’t have the qualifying for the Olympics we’d have two events a year and barely be able to make a salary or living out of it.
“The Olympics has helped with that and it also has given us more competitions to do through the year.
“The biggest thing that’s happened since the (Tokyo) Olympics, the younger generation and new ones coming through, we’ve had to step up our level of skateboarding tremendously.
“It’s cool to see the sport that we like to do be elevated and a lot more kids doing it, and they’re also getting really, really good.”
It hasn’t been the perfect preparation for Palmer.
He has had multiple knee injuries in the three years since Tokyo but is hitting his straps at the right time.
He won the Olympic qualifying series event in Budapest last month with a strong score of 94.94.
After winning gold in Tokyo by almost 10 points from Brazilian legend Pedro Barros, Palmer knows he will have to up his game.
“These last three years I’ve had quite a few injuries, sadly,” Palmer said.
“I tore my meniscus at the start of this year and then had a few bone bruises on the front of my knees. Towards the end of last year, I had bursitis.
“It’s been knee stuff, which is always terrible, but nothing super serious and no surgeries.
“Recently I’ve been feeling a lot more on top of my game.
“I went into Tokyo last time with not a lot of wins under my belt but I’ve had a few since that.
“So it’s good for my confidence and I’ve been skating and training a lot more than I usually do and that’s been paying off.
“The level of tricks has got a lot higher but I still think the run that I did in Tokyo would have a pretty solid chance of winning.
“There were a few things that would still win contests now but it depends on the park.”
A unique aspect of Olympic skateboarding is that competitors can’t plan their run until they are in Paris.
While they have been given dimensions and 3D models of the urban park, Palmer won’t start deciding which tricks to use until he’s at the venue.
“Some tricks that I wanted to do in the Tokyo Olympics, I couldn’t because the park didn’t really work for those tricks,” he said. “You gotta be ready for it.”
Palmer will be one of the more experienced members of a nine-strong Australian skateboarding team that heads to Paris, up from five in Tokyo.
Although he’s still in awe skating against men whose faces once appeared on posters in his room as a child, he’s now one of the elder statesmen in a group that includes five teenagers.
Palmer isn’t feeling the pressure heading into Paris, he’s made sure of that.
However, he has some big Olympic goals that include a potential swan song at Brisbane 2032.
“It’s going to be very interesting to see in Paris with the crowds and how the younger generation handles it,” Palmer said.
“I would still say I’m in that because we have big dogs that I look up to in the contest like Pedro, Alex Sorgente, Tom (Schaar).
“The biggest thing I’ve overcome is accepting the fact you can’t win them all.
“I know I’ve tried to win and when I don’t I’d get pissed or butt hurt.
“It’s made it a lot more enjoyable to go to the skate contests than it has been.
“I want to (get to Brisbane) because I’ll be 29 or so and there are guys who are 50 still making it.
“The competition might be too much for me to keep up but that would be my goal … and it would probably be my last one for Olympic-style events.
“I’ll be able to drive from my house on the Gold Coast straight to the event.”
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