Petaluma’s Minna Stess is heading to the Summer Olympics

It’s official: After years of hard work, dedication and dreaming big, Petaluma teen Minna Stess will be heading to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this August.

After the final Olympic qualifying series in Budapest, Hungary, last weekend, Stess was named to the U.S. Olympic Skateboarding Team, along with Bryce Wettstein, Mariah Duran, Ruby Lilley, Paige Heyn and Poe Pinson.

18-year-old Stess, who has been skating since she was in diapers and excelled in world-class competitions since she was 11, is now ranked No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 13 in the world for park skateboarding.

In 2021, she won gold at the 2021 USA National Championships’ Women’s Park competition, placing her among the top two women in the US for the event, and among the top 15 in the world. She went on to earn a bronze medal at the World Skateboarding Championships last October, becoming the first American ever to win a medal in the women’s event.

Now, after an exciting weekend in Budapest and before her Olympic events start on August 6, Stess is heading to the X Games, where she first made a name for herself at the age of 11. The competition will take place from June 28 to 30 in Ventura.

This story is being updated. Please come back later.

Amelia Richardson is a writer for the Argus-Courier. She can be reached at [email protected] or 707-521-5208.