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Rayssa Leal

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In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Mendes and the second or paternal family name is Leal.
Rayssa Leal
Leal in 2024
Personal information
Birth nameJhulia Rayssa Mendes Leal
NicknameFadinha ('Little Fairy')
Born (2008-01-04) 4 January 2008 (age 16)
Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1]
Sport
CountryBrazil
SportSkateboarding
PositionGoofy-footed
Rank1st – Street (December 2024)[2]
Medal record
Women's street skateboarding
Representing  Brazil
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Street
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Street
Summer X Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Chiba Street
Gold medal – first place 2023 Chiba Street
World Championships - World Skate (WS)
Gold medal – first place 2022 Sharjah Street
Gold medal – first place 2024 Rome Street
Silver medal – second place 2023 Tokyo Street
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Rome Street
World Championships - Street League Skateboarding (SLS)
Gold medal – first place 2022 Rio de Janeiro Street
Gold medal – first place 2023 São Paulo Street
Gold medal – first place 2024 São Paulo Street
Silver medal – second place 2019 São Paulo Street
Silver medal – second place 2021 Jacksonville Street
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Santiago Street

Jhulia Rayssa Mendes Leal (born 4 January 2008) is a Brazilian professional skateboarder who won a silver medal in women's street skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Early life

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Leal was born in Imperatriz, the second largest city in Maranhão, Brazil, to parents Haraldo Oliveira Leal and Lilian Mendes.[3][4] She has a younger brother, Arthur.[5] She started skateboarding at the age of six, after getting her first skateboard as a gift from a family friend.[6]

Skateboarding career

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Leal first gained attention at the age of 7, when a video of her skating in a tutu and jumping off tall structures on her skateboard went viral online. Leal's mother filmed the video on September 7, 2015, and sent it to American professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. The next day, Hawk reposted on Twitter and commented: "I don't know anything about it, but it's amazing: a fairytale-style heelflip in Brazil". At that time, she always made a post with the best maneuver of the day.[7][8] She was dubbed "A Fadinha do Skate", translated roughly as "The Little Fairy of Skateboarding".[9][10]

Early competitions

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At age 11, Leal competed in the 2019 Street League Skateboarding Championship in London, placing third with a score of 26.0, finishing above Alexis Sablone, Letícia Bufoni, and other skaters but behind fellow Brazilian Pamela Rosa and Australia's Hayley Wilson.[11][12] In July 2019, she placed first at the Street League Skateboarding Championship in Los Angeles, leading the podium ahead of Pamela Rosa and Alana Smith.[13] Also in 2019, she won a fourth place for her first X Games appearance.[14]

2020 Summer Olympics

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Leal during the skate street race at the 2020 Summer Olympics

In 2021, Leal competed in the pandemic-delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo at the age of 13, the youngest Brazilian ever to participate in the Olympic Games.[15] In the skateboarding street competition she placed 3rd in the qualifiers.[16][17][18] In the final, she won the silver medal.[19][20] At 13 years and 203 days old on medal day, she was the youngest Olympic medalist in 85 years,[21][22][23] and became an instant celebrity, gaining 5.8 million new followers on Instagram.[24] The young athlete also won The Visa Awards following her display of sportsmanship towards her opponents during the competition. The prize is a $50,000 donation to a charity of her choice.[25]

2021–2024

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On August 28, 2021, Rayssa won the opening leg of the 2021 Street League Skateboarding season, which took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. In the last round of tricks, Rayssa needed an 8.3 rating to pass Funa Nakayama and managed to get an 8.5 rating. It was, at that time, the highest score in women's SLS history, as no woman had done a kickflip followed by a handrail maneuver until this point in an official competition.[26]

In April 2022, she won her first X Games gold medal, defeating Nakayama and Chloe Covell.[27]

In November 2022, she won the 2022 SLS Super Crown in Rio de Janeiro.[28]

In December 2023, she won again the 2023 SLS Super Crown in São Paulo.[29] In the final, she got a 9 rating for the first time in her career. This achievement also made her the first woman to get a 9 rating during the run section in an SLS competition.[30]

2024 Summer Olympics

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In July 2024, she won a third place at the Olympic Games in Paris, becoming the youngest ever Brazilian double Olympic medallist.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "O flip de Rayssa Leal no Skate Street". ge.globo. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Skateboarding & Roller Sports - Ranking - WSR". World Skate. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  3. ^ MP, Luís. "The fairytale story of skateboarding princess Rayssa Leal". Surfer Today. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Rayssa Leal | Biography, Olympics, Age, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  5. ^ Arrudas, Mariana. "'Rayssa Leal merece ter muitos fãs e meu filho é um deles', diz Murilo Rosa". CARAS Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  6. ^ Como presente de aniversário e conselho de amigo mudaram a vida de Rayssa Leal
  7. ^ Inertia, The (2 August 2018). "We Checked In On 10-Year-Old Skater Rayssa Leal and She Still Rips". The Inertia. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  8. ^ Avins, Jenni (9 September 2015). "Watch: This tiny skateboarder in a fairy dress is determination personified". Quartz.
  9. ^ De fadinha às Olimpíadas: A trajetória de Rayssa Leal, a sensação brasileira no skate
  10. ^ "Olympic Profile at Tokyo 2020 site". Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  11. ^ "2019 SLS World Tour Stop One Women's Final". SLS - Street League Skateboarding. 26 May 2019.
  12. ^ Morgan, Liam (26 May 2019). "Huston triumphs in men's event at World Skate SLS World Tour in London". www.insidethegames.biz.
  13. ^ "11-year-old skateboarder with some serious skills". www.bbc.co.uk.
  14. ^ "Minneapolis 2019 womens-skateboard-street". X Games. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  15. ^ Rayssa Leal, a Fadinha, faz história e é prata no skate street nas Olimpíadas
  16. ^ De fadinha às Olimpíadas: A trajetória de Rayssa Leal, a sensação brasileira no skate
  17. ^ Rayssa Leal: Conheça a brasileira mais jovem da Olimpíada que já é fenômeno na internet
  18. ^ "Skateboarding - Heat 2 Results". Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Women Skate Results". Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Skateboarding - Final Results". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Women Skate Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Tóquio 2020: Rayssa Leal é a medalhista mais jovem dos Jogos em 85 anos; conheça os prodígios" (in Brazilian Portuguese). 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  23. ^ Rayssa Leal, a Fadinha, faz história e é prata no skate street nas Olimpíadas
  24. ^ "Simone Biles, Rayssa Leal: Which Olympians gained the most Instagram followers?". 11 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Fans vote Rayssa Leal as the winner of The Visa Award for inspirational display at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020". 12 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Rayssa Leal brilha e conquista primeira etapa da Liga Mundial de Skate". 28 August 2021.
  27. ^ "X Games Chiba 2022 Presented by Yogibo Day Three News and Results – Jagger Eaton and Rayssa Leal Earn First X Games gold medals; Monster Energy Men's Skateboard Street Japanese Podium Sweep". April 2022.
  28. ^ Rayssa Leal é campeã da Liga Mundial de Skate Street
  29. ^ Rayssa Leal é campeã da SLS com maior nota da carreira; veja manobra
  30. ^ Fontrodona, Marc (4 December 2023). "Rayssa Leal consigue el primer 9 de una mujer en la Street League". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  31. ^ Merrell, Chloe (28 July 2024). "Paris 2024 Olympics: Resilient Rayssa Leal rewards raucous Brazilian crowd with bronze in skateboarding". Olympics.com. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
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