Viewers praise US skateboarder Jagger Eaton for winning bronze while listening to AirPods at Olympics

Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter

Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Olympic viewers are sharing their praise and admiration for US skateboarder Jagger Eaton after he secured a bronze medal while listening to music through his AirPods at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

On Sunday, the 20-year-old made history when he became one of the first Olympic medallists in skateboarding, after the sport made its debut at this year’s Games.

However, while Eaton’s performance was Olympic-medal worthy, placing him in third, after silver-medallist Kelvin Hoefler of Brazil and gold-medallist Yuto Horigome of Japan, many viewers watching at home were most impressed by his ability to skateboard while keeping his AirPods in.

“Jagger Eaton deserves the gold medal just for keeping his AirPods in for the whole run. #Olympics,” one person joked.

Another said: “Jagger Eaton competing in the #Olympics with AirPods in his ears is such a vibe. #Tokyo2020 #TeamUSA.”

“Jagger Eaton skating with his AirPods in and finishing his heat in first place… legend behaviour,” someone else tweeted.

Fans were even entertained when the skateboarder lost an AirPod during one trick, with one tweet acknowledging how “crazy” it was to see Eaton look for the headphones after messing up a trick.

“Jagger Eaton LOOKING FOR HIS AIRPODS after messing up a trick is crazy,” they wrote. “Olympic skateboarding is weird.”

Eaton’s performance also prompted many viewers to express curiosity about the Olympian’s playlist, with numerous people wondering what Eaton was listening to while skateboarding.

“I need to know what Jagger Eaton is vibing to on his AirPods,” one person tweeted, while another asked: “Is anyone else insanely curious what Jagger Eaton is listening to in those AirPods? #TeamUSA #Olympics.”

While Eaton has not yet shared what songs he listened to during the Olympic course, the social media curiosity prompted Arizona 12News anchor Mitch Carr to reveal on Twitter that he’d previously asked the athlete a similar question during an interview that took place last month, and that the 20-year-old had said he listens to is “a little bit of old country and rap” before he competes.

“The music I listen to before I compete is a little bit of old country and rap,” Eaton said, before explaining that the unique mix comes from his “roots” because he “grew up on all the old country artists, and as far as new rap, that’s just a part of my life, I guess, of just being in skateboarding”.

Following his medal win, fellow Olympian Shaun White offered his congratulations to the skateboarder, with the snowboarder tweeting: “Congratulations to Jagger Eaton on being the first American Olympic medallist in skateboarding history!!

“Stoked for @yutohorigome and @kelvinhoefler@atibaphoto @TeamUSA.”