Gavin Bottger Earns First Dew Tour Win, Holds Off Olympic Gold Medalist Keegan Palmer In Men’s Park Final

He may have been the youngest skater in the field, but 15-year-old Gavin Bottger proved skill matters more than experience as he took the win in the Dew Tour men’s skateboard park final Saturday.

Bottger’s high score of 88 was set on his very first run, and the other 11 skaters in the field had the tall task of topping it.

The highlights of Bottger’s run included a kickflip backside 360 over the box jump into a McTwist in the deep end (which won him the best trick award of the contest), a kickflip Indy over the hip, a kickflip footplant on the MTN DEWDEW
can feature, a frontside slob plant on the plexiglass Toyota extension, a one-footed backside 360, a Cab heelflip 360 Indy and an alley-oop body varial 360.

Bottger had a difficult time putting his emotions into words following his win. “I can’t explain the feeling right now,” he told me, clutching his trophy. “It’s crazy. It’s so sick.”

Brazil’s Luiz Francisco took second and Australia’s Keegan Palmer, third.

Francisco, who was eighth in the start order, had originally owned the top spot in the standings thanks to his run that included a varial flip Indy, hardflip Indy over the hip, double kickflip melon over the box jump and a kickflip 50-50 on the MTN DEW can feature.

But Bottger bested him with his first run and never relinquished the lead.

Bottger and Palmer were slotted 11th and 12th in the 12-skater final, and the way the contest played out made for a gripping storyline, as Palmer had a chance for a walk-off win on the final run of the contest.

Palmer made life difficult for the judges with a run that included an alley-oop Indy air, noseblunt pull-in on the Toyota extension, Madonna, alley-oop kickflip Indy to fakie and two 540s. After a tense period of deliberation, however, Bottger remained on top to take his first Dew Tour win and second podium.

“That was my best run that I had; that was all I had planned,” Bottger said following the contest. Watching Palmer drop in for his final run with no chance to answer back was “super nerve wracking.”

“He could easily do it,” Bottger said. “He’s really good.”

Palmer, 19 took gold at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, where skateboarding made its debut. He finished just off the podium at last week’s X Games, where Bottger took silver.

“I’m glad I had a contest under my belt and wasn’t coming straight from the Olympics [to Dew Tour],” Palmer told me after his third-place finish Saturday.

The Olympic gold medalist also had high praise for his fellow Dew Tour competitors, including his buddy “Gavo” (Bottger).

“It’s hard to even describe, dude; all these guys are out here ripping,” Palmer said. “Gavo, Luiz, Cory [Juneau], [Alex] Sorgente…the level of skating is just off the rocker right now.”

At last year’s Dew Tour, it was Bottger who was in Palmer’s position, with a chance to unseat Red Bull teammate Zion Wright, who rocketed into first place with a signature run—one he hadn’t even attempted in practice—to rocket into first place. His backside 540 over the volcano on his very first hit—a trick no one else had attempted—sent the venue into a frenzy.

The place was still buzzing when fellow Red Bull teammate Bottger dropped in for his chance to answer. Bottger’s run—which ended with a Cab heelflip Indy grab to a back tail shuvit—was technical and clean enough to create some serious tension as the judges deliberated, but in the end, he couldn’t top Wright and finished third, with Sweden’s Oskar Rozenberg finishing second.

Wright’s win earned him a spot on the U.S. Olympic men’s park skateboarding team, as Dew Tour served as the final qualifier ahead of the Games.

Bottger was a member of the larger U.S. skateboarding national team ahead of the Tokyo Games, but Wright’s surprise Dew Tour win meant Bottger couldn’t earn enough points to qualify for the four-man Olympic park team.

Bottger has once again been named to the 2024 U.S. skateboarding team, and said the Paris 2024 Games are “definitely” his goal.

Originally from South Lake Tahoe, Bottger’s parents, Renee and Scott, relocated the family to the San Diego area so Bottger could focus on his burgeoning skateboarding career. He claimed the title in the Dew Tour amateur park final in 2018—where, at age 11, he was also the youngest in the field.

Bottger was formerly on the Powell-Peralta squad, but left in 2019. The goofy-footed skater is also sponsored by industry heavyweights Volcom, Spitfire, Independent and, of course, Red Bull.

Though Bottger’s first pro contest was in 2018, he hasn’t yet turned pro for Real Skateboards. That may not be the case for much longer.