It was a ceremony that would make Hollywood proud.
With movie star Tom Cruise descending into the Stade de France in Saint-Denis like Ethan Hunt and taking the Olympic flag from 11-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles before hopping on a motorcycle and driving out of the stadium, through Paris and onto a waiting cargo airplane, all eyes are now on Southern California as the countdown to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is underway.
Helping get that countdown started? Mesa native and skateboarder Jagger Eaton, who continues to be one of the faces of Team USA. Eaton is fresh off winning a silver medal in men’s street skateboarding at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the second Olympic medal for the 23-year-old.
As part of the closing ceremony for the Paris Olympics, the Olympic flag was passed from the current host city to the next host city. After Cruise skydived into Los Angeles and decorated the “OO” in the famous “Hollywood” sign with the Olympic rings, the flag was passed to mountain biker Kate Courtney. She rode the flag down into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, handing it to track and field legend Michael Johnson.
Johnson then ran with the flag before handing it to Eaton, who skated with it to Venice Beach. Waiting for Eaton and a crowd following after him was a live concert with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Billie Eilish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The 2024 Paris Olympics were praised for the integration of the city’s culture and landscape within the Games itself, and the organizers for Los Angeles 2028 appear to be following in the footsteps of their predecessors.
For Eaton, it’s another page in what is becoming a storied skateboarding career.
He was, at the time, the youngest-ever athlete to make his debut in the X Games at 11 years old. He used to have a reality show on Nickelodeon. In the first year of skateboarding at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Eaton took home the bronze medal while competing with a broken ankle. In the lead-up to Paris, it was hard to miss Eaton’s face as he was one of the focal points of the marketing campaign. Eaton nearly won gold too, finishing just .11 points away from the first-place finisher.
Now, Eaton can say he was part of the handoff for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where he will try to qualify for his third Olympic team.
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30.
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mesa’s Jagger Eaton part of handoff for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
