There's figure skating and there's roller skating. But roller figure skating?

Roller sports made its debut at the Asian Games, bringing together competitors wearing old-school skates with four wheels and a big rubber brake under the toes. The roller figure skaters leap and twirl just like their better-known counterparts on the ice, though skating at a slower speed and with a "thump" when landing jumps.

"Actually, if you were watching on TV, you would think they were very similar. The feeling is very similar, there's jumps and spins and music and they're wearing pretty costumes," said Wang Hsiao-chu of Taiwan. "But actually the skating is technically pretty different."

The two-day competition in Guangzhou, which ended Friday, was held in the infield of the velodrome that had earlier hosted the cycling events. In addition to figure skating, the roller sports program included speed skating with athletes wearing inline skates.

Many of the competitors said they began roller skating as a hobby, especially in some parts of Asia where it's too hot or too expensive to maintain an ice rink.

"We cannot afford to have an ice skating rink back in India, so we tend to develop roller skating there," said 17-year-old Aashna Rajan Shah.

Taiwan has some of the strongest roller figure skaters in Asia, but the team trains on an outdoor rink in a Taipei riverside park, dodging children who share the space with them.

"It's very big but it is outdoors so when it rains we can't practice," Wang said. "Because of this year's Asian Games we skated more indoors because the government gave us some funding to rent space. So that's why we got to skate inside on wooden floors, otherwise we're outside skating on concrete."

The sport even has its own version of Johnny Weir, the ice skater who's know for his over-the-top, flamboyant style. Japan's Shingo Nishiki, who's coached by his mother, skated in the short program on Thursday wearing a black and silver sequined top decorated with a red sequined skull, matching wrist cuffs, black nail polish and plenty of eyeliner.

"I'm so happy to hear that you think I'm like him," Nishiki said, when asked if Weir was among the athletes he most admired. "When he competes he's very expressive and is such an amazing performer."

The 22-year-old Nishiki achieved his goal of giving the audience some "rock" with his performance: he had by far the most flair and energy and had the audience cheering for more.

His fellow competitors weren't as impressed.

"He has a very infectious style, that's something the Asian competitors are typically lacking," said Chen Li-hsin of Taiwan, who was in the pairs competition. "But I think technically speaking he's not as good as the Taiwanese or Chinese athletes. He's better at performing and the judges like competitors like him."

Chen described Nishiki as "just a little bit different" but said he wouldn't consider adopting a more outrageous appearance. He'd rather stick to costumes like the one he wore Thursday that included mesh cutouts and red ruffles, which was tame compared with Nishiki's attire.

"I don't think it suits us. If you lose looking like that, then it's just strange," he said.

Style won out this time. Nishiki took gold on Friday with 253.8 points, with Yeh Chia-chen second and India's Anup Kumar Yama taking bronze in the men's event.

In the women's, Wang Hsiao-chu won with 247.2 points, with the minor medals going to China's Dong Zhidou, and Lin Meijiao.

The roller athletes hope this appearance at the Asian Games helps popularize their sport. A few are even optimistic that it will one day make the Olympic program.

"If we're in the Asian Games then I think there's hope for us getting into the Olympics," China's Deng Lei said.

That's something the Chinese and Taiwanese competitors agree on.

"Having it at the Olympics makes a big difference," Wang added. "The whole world pays attention to the Olympics."