A skateboarding legend applauds a boy who performs a difficult trick.

9-year-old skater Ema Kawakami from the Japanese city of Kobe was the first in the world to perform a triple version of the “900” trick. Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk was watching the athlete at that moment.

Ema Kawakami from Kobe competed in the Tony Hawk's Vert Alert competition. In one of his attempts, he performed a triple “900” - two and a half turns in the air at 900 degrees. The athlete was watched by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, and after the performance he gave the young rider a standing ovation.

Two years ago, 7-year-old Kawakami became the youngest skateboarder to successfully perform Hawk's signature trick. Hawk himself, in 1999, was the first and one of the few to do this difficult feat. Hawk later repeated it at the age of 48.

Tony Hawk is a pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding. In 1999, Activision released a video game series based on Hawk's skating, called Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.