After years of blood, sweat and tears (literally) to prepare for this moment, we still know which skaters will make up the United States at the Tokyo Olympics next month.
Monday, June 21 — Go Skateboarding Day — USA Skateboarding, the national governing framework for skateboarding in the United States, has announced the official Olympic skateboarding that will compete in Tokyo.
The Olympic qualifying era originally scheduled to run from January 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020 The qualifying procedure has, of course, been interrupted through Covid-19, and instead the window ends on June 29, 2021. , the U. S. parks and streets team. U. S. qualified mathematically and blocked their positions: 3 for each gender in each event.
Maybe it’s because it’s Skateboarding Day, or it’s adrenaline that makes them endure for two and a half years, or simply because they were all together, but Monday’s announcement was touching for almost everyone on stage, partners and stakeholders to the skaters themselves.
The voice of USA Skateboarding CEO Josh Friedberg broke more than once when he brought the 12 members of the Olympic team and as he passed the microphone to each of the skaters to explain why they love sports, the same themes were repeated: freedom, expression, friendship.
The competitive detail of professional skateboarding, on the other hand, is rarely mentioned, is a cornerstone of skateboarding culture that not even the Olympics will be able to change.
There’s an inherent tension between skateboarding and the festival, street skater Alexis Sablone said, and while those 12 athletes are motivated, they wouldn’t be where they are today in a different way, friendship and networking are what helps keep them on their boards. It’s not unusual to see someone launch an epic run at a skateboarding festival that absolutely takes another skater out of the medal position and yet that user will be the first to congratulate the winner.
Florida street skater and Osprey, Florida, Jake Ilardi, said he liked riding a skateboard “it’s just free speech. “”You can do whatever you want, dress however you want,” said Ilardi, 24. other personalities, however, skateboarding is a non-unusual bond that unites us all. “
The concept of skateboarding as a safe area also reappeared at the event. Street skater Alana Smith, 20, who identifies as non-binary, said the game allowed them to show their belonging. “Skateboarding gives you the area to be able to be yourself. and grow as a human being and be supported on the course,” Smith said, while the other skaters at the level taped on their forums to cheer them up.
Mariah Duran, america’s top-ranked street skater, was moved when she yelled at her two brothers, Elijah and Zeke, to make her the skater she is today. Duran’s parents didn’t need her to start skating from the beginning, yet. it allowed him to move to the skating park with his brothers.
“It was a long journey,” said Duran, 24, as he stopped to recover. “To have a circle of family members through my appearance is amazing. My brothers are in my competitions . . . We believed it, we. “I’ve enjoyed it, it’s amazing how far it comes. We move on to Tokyo and the games Olímpicos. No it’s just a hobthrough. “
Park skater Brighton Zeuner, 16, said “you set your own rules” on skateboarding. “I wouldn’t be the user I am if I hadn’t hit my first skateboard,” he said.
The formating years of Zeuner, Southern California’s most productive friend and compatriot Bryce Wettstein, 17, said skateboarding can color the way we see the world. “It’s the language of skateboarding,” he said. It makes you see the global the way you’ve sought to see it. “
These 12 athletes are aware that by participating in the Olympics, they are participating in something much bigger than their own careers. By presenting the game to the world, they will enlighten those who have never given it legitimacy and shape the next generation of professional skaters.
“This is the most laughable thing on Earth; it is whether you are one of us about to compete in the Olympics or a child skating in your hometown,” said Nyjah Huston.
Zion Wright, who called it a blast for the Olympic team with his declaration, his biggest victory on the Dew Tour, said skateboarding “gives me so much hope, so much joy. “”It gives me the opportunity to explain who I am and what I stand for,” Wright added.
“It’s for whoever needs it, and you can create some of your most powerful friendships and relationships through skateboarding,” Duran said. “It’s just this piece of wood, but it’s amazing. “
The day before Monday’s announcement, members of the Olympic skateboard team were able to use the pieces they were looking to wear from the Nike SB skate federation kits. , After all, skateboarding is as much about taste and culture as what you do in Nike uniforms come with each and every thing , from tank tops and shorts to polo shirts and shipping boats, to ensure that each and every skater can reflect their unique identity.
As they tried the pieces they would eventually wear in Tokyo, the truth that they had qualified for the Olympics began to take hold and, during Monday’s announcement, this hobby manifested itself in many hugs and smiles and a few tears of joy.
The announcement was presented through Toyota with USA Skateboarding sponsors Nike SB, Tech Deck, Jessup Griptape and ProTec Helmets.
As a mobility company, Toyota is primarily focused on the tactics that skateboarding can offer people freedom of movement, said Dedra DeLilli, Toyota Group’s Car Sponsorship, Integration and Exhibition Manager. Toyota recently announced its commitment to provide monetary and sponsorship opportunities, totaling approximately $5 million, for all U. S. Paralympic athletes. U. S.
Adapted skateboarding will make its debut at the Tokyo Paralympic Games along with skateboarding at the Olympics. The World Championships of Adapted Skateboarding will take position this fall . . . but next step, the game plans to make its debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“Thanks to the never-ending determination of the skaters and others involved in this process, we have a genuine chance to use a suitable skateboard for the 2028 Paralympic Games, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Friedberg said.
The 12 skaters who will make up the United States at the Tokyo Olympics on the Olympic team are:
Women’s Park
Jordyn Barratt
Bryce Wettstein
Brighton Zeuner
Men’s Park
Heimana Reynolds
Cory Juneau
Sion Wright
Women’s Street
Mariah Duran
Alexis Sabloné
Alana Smith
Men’s Street
Jagger Eaton
Nyjah Huston
Jake Ilardi
I’ve been writing about action sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games for over a decade, having the Summer and Winter X Games, the Summer and Winter Olympics and
I have been writing about action sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games for over a decade, having dominated the X Games summer and winter, the Olympic and Paralympic Summer and Winter Games, the Dew Tour, the World Championships, etc. each and every angle, however, my favorite articles to write about are the profiles of the athletes that make those sports so fascinating. I’m from New Hampshire, where I cut my teeth as a snowboarder (and cut my knees and elbows. . . ), and now I live in Chicago, a town that has a gold medal in my center despite its lack of elevation. Follow me on Twitter @MichelleBruton.