Teens Dominate Women’s Street Skateboarding at Paris 2024 Olympics

In an exciting display of talent, youth shone brightly at the women’s street skateboarding final during the Paris 2024 Olympics. Three teenage skaters took the spotlight, showcasing incredible skills on their boards.

Japan‘s 14-year-old Coco Yoshizawa clinched the gold medal with an impressive score of 272.75, marking another triumph for the nation in this sport. Right behind her was fellow Japanese skater Liz Akama, just 15 years old, who secured the silver with a score of 265.95. The bronze went to 16-year-old Brazilian skater Rayssa Leal, who scored 253.37.

Yoshizawa wowed the crowd with a near-perfect big spin flip frontside boardslide, earning a stellar score of 96.46 during her fourth trick. This phenomenal trick helped her rise to the top of the leaderboard.

Despite Akama starting off strong with a score of 92.62 on her first trick, she faced some challenges on her last three attempts. Nonetheless, she managed to hold onto her silver medal thanks to a solid second run score of 89.26.

Leal, who had previously won silver at Tokyo 2020, found herself in fourth place before her final trick. In a calm moment under pressure, she executed a kickflip frontside boardslide, earning 88.83 points and ultimately taking home the bronze.

Yoshizawa, even at just 14, displayed remarkable composure throughout her performance, landing both of her run attempts and recording consistent scores of 85.02 and 86.80.

This victory marks Japan’s second consecutive gold medal in the women’s street event, following their success at the Tokyo Games.

After her win, Yoshizawa reflected on her performance, saying, “I felt that there were areas where I lacked practice and also parts where I was being too meticulous. I need to rethink and not be too fixated.”

Akama shared her thoughts on a special trick she couldn’t land during the competition, mentioning, “I have been trying it a lot and practicing a lot and I have actually done it in a competition before, but today I couldn’t make it.” Despite this, she expressed her happiness about achieving her Olympic dream at such a young age.

Leal, enjoying the electric atmosphere of the Paris crowd, said, “Now I know what the real Olympics are.” She reflected on her experience compared to Tokyo, where the competition was overshadowed by the pandemic.

The women’s street final took place amid sunny weather, a welcome change from the rainy conditions that had affected the Games earlier. The excitement now builds as skaters prepare for the men’s street final, set to start on Monday.