By Julie Peh
Heyn scored 244.29, good for sixth place, while Pinson’s 241.12 ranked her eighth – the last spot for qualifying. Japan held the top two spots, with Coco Yoshizawa earning a 258.92 to lead the field and Liz Akama taking second with a 257.99.
“I honestly didn’t expect to be here at the Olympics and would have never imagined making it to my first Olympic finals,” said Poe Pinson. “I love skateboarding and feel so proud to represent my country and have my family here who have supported me my entire journey with this sport.”
During Pinson’s fourth and fifth best trick portion of the format, she attempted a 540, which isn’t something you typically see in a street contest but is a consistent trick attempted in park and vert, and skateboard legend Tony Hawk loved it.
“I like the 540 choices in your last two trick attempts, and I even saw some knee drops, which I have always been a fan of,” Hawk said while congratulating Pinson with a fist pump after the competition.
Three teenagers claimed their spot on the podium: Yoshizawa Coco, a 14-year-old from Japan, took home the gold with a score of 272.75. Liz Akama, a 15-year-old also from Japan, grabbed silver with a score of 265.95, and 16-year-old Brazilian Rayassa Leal secured bronze with a score of 253.37.
Skateboarding debuted at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The U.S. brought home its first Olympic skateboarding medals when Jagger Eaton (Encinitas, California) and Cory Juneau earned bronze medals in the street and park competitions, respectively. In addition to Eaton, Nyjah Huston (Davis, California), Bryce Wettstein (Encinitas, California), and Mariah Duran (Albuquerque, New Mexico) will return for their second Olympic Games.
Eight athletes are making their Games debuts – Chris Joslin (Hawaiian Gardens, California), Gavin Bottger (Vista, California), Minna Stess (Petaluma, California), Paige Heyn (Tempe, Arizona), Poe Pinson (Fernandina Beach, Florida), Ruby Lilley (Oceanside, California), Tate Carew (San Diego, California), and Tom Schaar (Malibu, California).
Judging Criteria
For street in the qualifying rounds, skaters will have two runs of 45 seconds each. Winning runs usually feature six to seven tricks. The final round consists of the trick portion. Five-trick attempts are allotted for two scores. One run score (100 points maximum) and two trick scores (each worth 100 points) will make up a total score of up to 300 to determine the winner. The top eight athletes qualify for the final, following the same format. Men’s street skateboarding was scheduled for Saturday, July 27, but was moved to Monday, July 29, at noon local time due to rain.
In Paris, park skaters will have three runs of 45 seconds each. Winning runs usually feature between five to eight tricks. Runs are judged on five criteria: difficulty and variety of tricks performed, quality of execution, use of the course, flow and consistency, and repetition. The top eight athletes qualify for the final, following the same format. Women’s and men’s park skateboarding will be held on August 6 and 7, respectively.
