(ECNS) -- China's 14-year-old skateboarder Cui Chenxi finished fourth with a total of 241.56 points in the women's street skateboarding final at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, achieving the country's best result in the event to date.
Cui outperformed higher-profile opponents, marking a major jump for Chinese athletes in the urban action sport. Despite missing the medal by just a fraction, she impressed with two clean tricks out of five attempts.
The Olympic street skateboarding event consisted of two runs and five trick displays, with the final score decided by the sum of highest run score and highest score of two tricks.
Skateboarding powerhouse Japan reigned supreme in the event with its world No. 1 skater Coco Yoshizawa and No. 2 Liz Akama finishing one-two on the podium after going neck-to-neck in their Olympic debut.
Brazil’s Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Rayssa Leal secured bronze by landing her second successful trick in her fifth attempt, overtaking Cui, who had been in third place before Leal's final run.
Cui had long aspired to grace the Olympic stage. Despite missing out on a medal by just one place, Cui remained upbeat, saying, “There's not much to regret.”
"Even though they made mistakes, they are all very talented. Leal is actually on par with the top three, and she could have taken first place as well,” Cui informed reporters.
She said a major takeaway from competing at the Olympics was making many new friends and meeting inspiring competitors whom she respects.
Cui was first exposed to roller skating at the age of 3 and became formally acquainted with skateboarding at 10. Three years later, she claimed victory at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, making her the youngest athlete to win a gold medal at the event in China.
京公网安备 11010202009201号