Paris
CNN
—
It may have been a bronze medal, but it was celebrated in the stands like it was a gold.
When Brazilian superstar Rayssa Leal stuck her all-important final trick of the women’s street skateboarding final at the Paris Olympics, a deafening roar went up from the many green-and-gold-clad fans watching on.
In that moment, Leal – an undeniably popular figure back home in Brazil with huge support in Paris to prove it – jumped from fifth to third, capitalizing on her final hope of securing a second Olympic medal.
Out in front were the Japanese duo of Coco Yoshizawa, who took gold thanks to a massive score on her fourth trick, and Liz Akama, who had led for much of the competition.
Just as with this event in Tokyo, the entire podium was made up of teenagers: Yoshizawa is 14, Kama 15, and Leal – who became Brazil’s youngest ever Olympic medalist when she won silver three years ago – 16.
Although she wasn’t able to upgrade her silver from Tokyo, Leal, along with her huge number of supporters, would have been equally joyous and relieved to win bronze in dramatic fashion, scoring 88.83 with her final act of the competition to climb ahead of China’s Cui Chenxi on the leaderboard.
“It was like a gold medal because … she had to make it,” Brazilian fan Michelle Arruda, who bought tickets for the women’s street skateboarding to watch Leal a year ago, told CNN Sport. “It was a lot of emotion and felt like the Olympic spirit – you have to be here to understand what it is.
“You get so nervous, it’s like you are there with them … We were literally praying, holding hands. It was like: ‘She’s going to make it.’ I don’t know how, but I really believed that she was going to make it.”
Leal first catapulted to fame when a video of her skateboarding aged seven, dressed in a blue fairy princess costume, went viral. It was shared by skateboarding icon Tony Hawk, who tipped his hat to the “ fairytale heelflip.”
Known as the fadinha do skate – Portuguese for “skate fairy” – from then on, Leal’s popularity has continued to grow. She has acquired a number of sponsors, including Nike and Monster Energy, and boasts 7 million followers on Instagram, all while her skateboarding has continued to take an upward trajectory.
The highlight of her performance at Paris’ Urban Park, a temporary facility erected on the Place de la Concorde, was scoring 92.88 for the first of her two successful tricks – the second-highest score of the final.
“When I was very young, I dreamed of becoming a skateboard athlete,” Leal told reporters. “And here I am, with a second Olympic medal from the Games. Once again, thanks God I won a medal. I’m very happy to be here.”
Thousands in Brazil will have celebrated the medal, among them Brazil and Real Madrid soccer star Vinícius Jr. “We love you @rayssaleal,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “You are awesome.”
The Urban Sport Park, which plays host to skateboarding, BMX, breakdancing and 3×3 basketball at these Olympics, has a different feel to other venues: DJs tell fans to put their hands in the air, kids demonstrate their moves on a wooden dance floor, and a man spray paints graffiti on a white canvass.
Yet despite its distinctly youthful slant, the venue still carries the hallmarks of an iconic Parisian destination. Located at the end of the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and River Seine are all visible from temporary stands, while the Musée de l’Orangerie is nearby.
Heavy rain on Friday had caused the men’s street skateboarding to be postponed by two days, but the women’s event was blessed with bright sun. In the skate park – a collection of slopes, stairs, and rails – participants compete in headphones, baggy T-shirts and cargo pants, while music blasts from the speakers.
A preliminary round of 22 is whittled down to eight finalists, all of whom were teenagers, aged between 14 and 19. Yoshizawa qualified with the highest score ahead of Akama, while Leal was back in seventh.
Akama had led for most of the final, jumping from last to first between her first and second runs, before Yoshizawa surged into the lead with her penultimate trick, recording an overall score of 272.75.
Those two were out of reach when Leal stepped up for one final run and jumped into the bronze medal position, later sparking a party atmosphere among the Brazilian fans in the stands as GALA’s Eurodance hit “Freed from Desire” – released well before any of the medalists were born – rang around the stadium.
Speaking to reporters later, Leal said that it felt like “100% Brazilians” in the crowd. “It means a lot, not only for me, but for my team, for Brazil. We are happy,” she added. “This is for skateboarding.”
