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Olympic Skateboarder Knocks Down Nearest Cameraman During Men's Park Competition

Olympic Skateboarder Knocks Down Nearest Cameraman During Men's Park Competition

The U.S. men's skateboarding coach told PEOPLE in Tokyo that "our sport is like basically asking yourself to get hurt every day you go out there."

Or, in the case of the men's park event at the Olympics on Thursday, it was one of the cameramen who needed to be careful.

Australian skater Kieran Woolley was finishing his first run during qualifying when he hopped up on a rail and slid straight into a nearby cameraman, knocking the latter down on his butt.

Woolley, 17, reacted with visible embarrassment and walked back over to the man, flashing him a thumbs up to make sure he was okay.

He was: The camera captured the two fist-bumping and Woolley — who qualified for the final — was later seen laughing.

Men's Park
Men's Park

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Men's Park
Men's Park

Skateboarding, which made its Olympic debut in Japan with men and women's street and park competitions, carries a lot of physical risk.

Skaters so far have been seen listening to music to keep them focused and, when a run doesn't go as planned, some have shouted expletives. Many of them seem hardly shaken when they face-plant after a mistake or go tumbling down the edges of the courses.

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"Whatever can get you in the right mindset to throw your body down the handrail and not get injured, go right ahead," U.S. men's coach Andrew Nicolaus told PEOPLE. "If that's screaming, cussing, go ahead. If that's listening to music so you can't hear anyone else, perfect."

The men's skateboarding competition ends Thursday.

To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.