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Welcome to the world of skateboarding! We'll take you through everything from ollies to halfpipes. In our "24 Sports Chrono" series, we tell you everything you need to know about Olympic and Paralympic Games disciplines. On your marks, get set! Go!
The 100-point mark
The Tokyo 2021 Games skateboarding make its Olympic Games debut and it's here to stay. Two skateboarding events will take place on the Place de la Concorde (8th) for the Paris 2024 Games: a street competition and a park competition. Both competition formats are identical, with two heats leading to the final. In substance though, they're a little different.
Street sessions take place in an urban setting with benches, stairs and rails among other things. Athletes have two runs of 45 seconds each to perform the best possible sequence of tricks. Each run is scored out of 100, and the best score of the two is the one that counts. Skateboarders must also perform five unique tricks, also scored from 0 to 100. Both top scores count towards the skateboarder's overall score.
The park event, on the other hand, takes place in a different environment featuring pipes and bowls conducive to speed and aerial tricks. Athletes have three 45 second runs to get as close as possible to 100 points. The best of the three runs determines final ranking.
Skills required to be a champion: balance, creativity, daring and mastery of gravity.
Foam to bitumen
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The history of skateboarding is closely linked to that of its seafaring cousin: surfing. It all began in California in the 1950s. At the time, surfing was developing rapidly on the beaches of the West Coast. Land-based equivalents were also emerging at a slower rate and remained fairly experimental. Boards and trucks were heavy and rigid and the wheels were made of metal.
It wasn't until the 1970s that the discipline was (finally) democratized, thanks to a few strokes of luck. As early as 1973, two Californians invented plastic wheels that enabled boards to take to more surfaces. In 1975, a drought in the Los Angeles region prompted residents to empty their swimming pools providing skateboarders with unprecedented playing fields. Finally, in 1978, Alan Gelfand invented the most famous skateboarding trick: the ollie. Modern skateboarding was born.
The ollie
The ollie is a trick that involves getting you and your board into the air. It was invented by Alan "Ollie" Gelfand in 1978. It is done by hitting the rear end of the board with your back foot, then leveling the front end with your other foot and lifting your knees to bring the skateboard off the ground. Practice makes perfect.
French expectations are high
Women:
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Emilie Alexandre (Park)
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Lucie Schoonheere (Street) - eliminated during the playoffs.
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Louise-Aïna Taboulet (Park)
Men:
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Joseph Garbaccio (Street) - eliminated in the playoffs.
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Aurélien Giraud-Geneste (Street) – eliminated during the series.
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Vincent Milou (Street) - eliminated during the playoffs.
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Vincent Matheron (Park)
Where and when?
Street events will take place at Concorde Park on July 27th and 28th. And August 6th and 7th for park events.
Do you speak skateboard?
The ollie is so important to the history of skateboarding because it has become the basis for (almost) every trick we know today. Here's a small selection of aerials, flips and tricks.
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Kickflip: the first derivative of the ollie; instead of sliding forward, the front foot is moved inwards so that the board performs a complete spin.
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Heelflip: it's the same principle as the previous trick, except that you hit the board with your heel, hence the presence of the word heel in the name.
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Pop shove-it: in this trick, the board rotates 180° on a vertical axis under the skater's feet.
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360 flip: one of the most difficult tricks to master. Why? It's a clever combination of a 360° pop shove-it (a double vertical rotation of the board) and a kickflip. Still following?
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Liking the 24 Sports Chrono series?
The "24 Sports Chrono" is a weekly feature published during the lead up to the Games. Missed the previous episode? Catch up here on all the other sports in our dedicated series.
It's good for your health!
Skateboarding can be done anywhere and you don't necessarily need a skate-park: a bit of asphalt and a few steps are all you need.
Skateboarding strengthens ankles, necks, legs… it's also a great way of getting a six-pack.
Being a skateboarder means being as free as a bird. Dress the way you want, skate with whoever you want and practice wherever you want!
Where to make them?
From the Trocadéro (16th arrondissement) to Place de la République (11th arrondissement), the capital is well kitted out with spots and skate-parks. Here's a small selection.
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