Japan Dominates, Rayssa Leal Wins Second Olympic Medal in Women’s Street Skateboarding

The first skateboarding event of the 2024 Paris Olympics is already in the books. The women’s street finals will conclude in Paris on Sunday night.

Sunday was warm and sunny in Paris, despite rainy weather that heralded the Games’ opening ceremony on Friday and forced the postponement of Saturday’s men’s street skateboarding final until Monday.

It was a long day for the eight women who made it to the final on Sunday from the 22 who started the preliminary rounds at 12:00 Paris time. After a three-hour qualifying competition during the hottest part of the day, the final started at 17:00 CEST.

Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) could qualify a maximum of three athletes for each of the four Olympic skateboarding events (street and park for men and women).

Japan, which had three of the world’s top four skaters heading into Paris, reached the maximum quota allowed with all three women – Coco Yoshizawa, 14; Liz Akama, 15; and Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Funa Nakayama, 19 – reaching the final.

The field of eight in the final was completed by 14-year-old Chenxi Cui of China; 14-year-old Chloe Covell of Australia; 16-year-old Paige Heyn of America; 16-year-old Rayssa Leal of Brazil, who won the silver medal at Tokyo 2020; and 19-year-old Poe Pinson of America.

16-year-old Momiji Nishiya, gold medalist at Tokyo 2020, was ranked seventh in the world for Paris 2024. But with Yoshizawa, Akama and Nakayama ranked first, second and fourth respectively, Nishiya was unable to qualify for Paris.

Also finishing in fifth place was 17-year-old Japanese Yumeka Oda, but was also removed from qualifying position.

Yoshizawa and Akama won gold and silver in Paris with scores of 272.75 and 265.95 respectively.

Yoshizawa’s victory means Japan has now won gold both times the event has been held at the Olympic Games.

Leal took bronze, making her the only female skateboarder with two Olympic medals for now. (Park skateboarders Kokona Hiraki and Sakura Yosozumi of Japan and Sky Brown of Great Britain could join Leal in that rarefied air if they can podium in their event next week.)

Yoshizawa and Akama were the top two qualifiers in Sunday’s women’s street preliminary rounds, respectively. They were also ranked No. 1 (Yoshizawa) and No. 2 (Akama) in the world at Paris 2024.

Leal was ranked third, giving him an Olympic podium that perfectly matched his pre-Games world rankings.

During the press conference after the final, Yoshizawa and Akuna were asked why they think Japan is so strong in women’s skateboarding.

“The reason we are so strong is because the Japanese people are diligent and sincere and strive to achieve their goals and dreams,” Akama said through an interpreter.

“The environment in Japan is very good for training and even those who are less good at it, we can learn from each other and become stronger,” Yoshizawa said, also through an interpreter.

At 16, Leal is already a veteran in the women’s street discipline and has built a reputation as a closer. At the start of the fifth and final best trick attempts, Leal was in fifth place off the podium.

But she put on a clinic, executing her kickflip Smith grind to perfection, moving up to third place with a score of 253.37. None of the four skaters not yet on the podium could better this score.

The crowd watching the women’s final on the streets of the Place de la Concorde was made up of a third Brazilian fans. When Leal scored 71.66 on her first of two runs, 92.88 on her second trick attempt and 88.83 on her fifth, the crowd erupted in cheers and waved a sea of ​​Brazilian flags.

Leal had only landed one trick, meaning she had to successfully perform the fifth trick to have a chance at the podium.

She hadn’t practiced the kickflip Smith grind on the Olympic course. “I was a little scared; I won’t lie to you,” she said with a smile. But she consulted with her team and, although it was “not easy,” she decided to go big or take home her last attempt.

Does Leal feel like she performs better under pressure?

“Well, I think I can perform well under pressure, but not always, actually. But when I need a trick, I always get it, and this time was no different,” Leal said through an interpreter. “It’s true that I put myself under pressure in some way, because I want to do my best and perform well and show all the tricks I have.”

Akama failed to successfully complete her fifth attempt, giving Yoshizawa the gold medal.

The scoring for street skateboarding has changed since the Tokyo Olympics.

ForbesHow Skateboarding Is Judged at the OlympicsBy means of Michelle Bruton

In Tokyo, the skaters also performed two 45-second runs and five trick attempts, each of which was scored on a scale of 0 to 10. The total score was the sum of the best four scores from all runs or trick attempts.

In Paris, however, each run or trick is scored between 0 and 100. The total score takes into account the skater’s best run out of two and the two best trick attempts, giving a total possible score of 300.

This rule change was implemented in part to ensure that both runs and trick attempts count toward an athlete’s final score. (For example, at the Tokyo Games, the men’s street gold medalist, Yuto Horigome, had the two lowest scores in his two runs, so his final score was based on tricks alone.)

The men’s street finals will start with the preliminary rounds on Monday, July 29 at 12:00 (CEST).

Street Skateboarding Results for Women

1. Coco Yoshizawa (Japan): 272.75
2. Liz Akama (JPN): 265.95
3. Rayssa Leal (BRA): 253.37
4. Chenxi Cui (CHN): 241.56
5. Poe Pinson (US): 222.34
6. Paige Heyn (US): 163.23
7. Funa Nakayama (Japan): 79.77
8. Chloe Covell (AUS): 70.33