Paris Notebook: For love of women's skateboarding
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Ina Fried/Axios
Sunday's women's skateboarding competition in Paris represented the future of the Olympic Games, in more ways than one.
The big picture: Skateboarding, now in its second Olympics, is part of a concerted effort by organizers to make the Olympic Games younger, more diverse and more urban.
My thought bubble: I first fell in love with women's skateboarding covering the event in Tokyo, admiring the way these athletes — some girls as young as 12 or 13 — competed so fiercely while at the same time being incredibly supportive of their rivals.
Zoom in: Sunday's final was in the street event, where athletes can choose to perform various tricks on a range of equipment, including ramps, rails, stairs and curbs.
- As has been the case during the sport's brief Olympic history, the Japanese dominated, with 14-year-old Coco Yoshizawa taking gold and 15-year-old Liz Akama taking silver.
- Brazilian Rayssa Leal, the Instagram-famous silver medal winner in Tokyo, took bronze, to the delight of the throngs of fans there to support her.
- Two Americans made the finals — Poe Pinson, 19, and Paige Heyn, 16, — finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
How it works: Each competitor in street performed two 45-second runs, scored by the five judges on a scale of zero to 100, with only the top run counting, along with five single tricks, with the top two trick scores counting.
What they're saying: "I feel really grateful because we don't see the same in so many sports having young people who are in the lead, playing in finals," Leal told reporters after the competition. "But more and more we see women, girls at the Olympics and in other international championships, so I feel very honored to be part of this history with my colleagues."
Fun fact: Skateboarding literally was a crime in Norway from 1978 until 1989.
Between the lines: Among the challenges for both spectators and competitors is the intense heat and little shade offered by the outdoor venue.
- In Tokyo, the heat was even worse, with athletes donning ice vests to stay cool and reporters and photographers offered ice packs.
What's next: The women's park competition, the other skateboarding discipline, takes place on Aug. 6, featuring defending bronze medalist Sky Brown.
Go deeper: U.S. wins most Olympic medals in Paris Games' first weekend
