Paris Preview: Skateboarding
Get to know about one of the Olympics’ newer sports and Australia’s two main medal hopes.
JULY 21, 2024.
As an 11 year old in lockdown during the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, the introduction of skateboarding was a brilliant addition. The skills from the athletes, many of whom were teenagers, was both inspiring and jaw dropping. On top of that, the friendship and sportsmanship displayed by the competitors towards each other was something that seemed to lift the spirits of viewers right around the world at a time when they needed it most.
So inspiring was the competition for girls like myself, that I used money of my own to buy a skateboard and head to the local park during my exercise time during lockdown, where I found that most of my school friends had made the same decision independent of each other!
Months after the Olympics I had a chance to hang out with Aussie skater Poppy Starr, who finished fifth in the Park event at Tokyo, for an ABC TV production. Poppy told me the friendships of the skaters are authentic, and are a celebration of their diversity;
“Everyone that went to the Olympics was so different. There will be like 13 year olds on the podium winning, and then there’ll also be like 30 year olds. We’ve all skated together for the past five to ten years so we’re all just great friends.”
Skateboarding consists of two different events, Park and Street, and Australia has genuine medal hopes in both events. So what’s the difference between the two?
Park skating takes place in a bowl area, where the competitors use the sides of the area to generate speed so they can perform aerial tricks as part of their routines. Each skater has three runs of 45 seconds to perform the highest scoring routine possible, with the highest scoring run counting.
Australia’s big hope in Park skating is a name that many have become familiar with in the past few months. 14 year old Arisa Trew from Queensland made headlines when she became the first female skater to perform a 900 degree trick several months ago. Arisa attempted the same trick in the recent X Games which would have surely won gold but was unable to land it, before recovering the next day to win gold in both the Park Final and Vert Final. The Aussie teen comes into Paris as the form skater in the event, having also won both of the Olympic Qualifying Series events in Shanghai and Budapest. Sydney’s Ruby Trew, unrelated to Arisa, will also represent Australia in the Park event.
Internationally, Great Britain teenager Sky Brown will be another of the medal contenders in Park. The reigning World Champion and a medallist in Tokyo three years ago, 16 year old Sky had hopes of making history by going to her second Olympics and competing in both Surfing and Skating, however injury disrupted her preparations and she was unable to qualify for the two. Despite a recent MCL injury in her knee, Sky attended the Qualifying Series event in Budapest and booked her spot for Skating and will be one to watch.
Street Skating, as the name suggests, involves skating in a more flat environment like you would see in an urban street. Skaters use rails and ramps to perform tricks, where they have two attempts at a 45 second run and then five individual tricks. Their best run and highest scoring two tricks count towards a final score in both the preliminary round and final.
Once again, Australia has a great medal chance in the Street event, but the competition will be fierce. 14 year old Chloe Covell is an X Games gold medallist, World Championship silver medallist and multiple Street League Skating title winner, and will be one of the favourites for gold in Paris.
The quietly spoken teen from Tweed Heads near the NSW/QLD border will be in stiff competition with some of her closest friends on the tour, including Brazilian superstar Rayssa Leal. At just 13 years old, Rayssa won silver in Tokyo and became an instant celebrity in her home country, behind Japan’s Momiji Nishiya who won gold. Rayssa has won the last two Street League Final titles and won silver at the World Champs late last year.
Despite their language and cultural differences, the close friendship between Chloe and Rayssa is one that will be on display during the Paris Games. Last October, HER WAY chatted to the Brazilian star about the bond between the two, and the skating community in general. While her English is limited, she shared,
“We are growing together, so that’s fun because we know each other.”
Defending Olympic champion Momiji won’t be there this time, but Japan will still provide some of the other favourites for medals including Funa Nakayama, Coco Yoshizawa and Liz Akama. For Australia, Haylie Powell and Liv Lovelace will also represent the green and gold in the Street event.
The Street event starts Sunday evening July 28 Australian time with the Preliminary round, with the final following just a few hours later. Park gets underway a week later.