The 13-year-old skateboarding phenom has been working hard at the sport for years—and had already become a viral sensation years ago after she skateboarded in a fairy costume on video. Find out all about Olympic skateboarder Rayssa Leal, including the adorable viral video that made her a social media star.
Who is skateboarder Rayssa Leal?
In 2015, skateboarding legend Tony Hawkgave a then-7-year-old Leal her first viral break when he shared footage of her shredding away in a princess costume! Leal said in 2020 about the viral clip, “I got a skateboard as a birthday present when I was 6 and I started riding it around the house. My dad had some friends who were skateboarders and I started riding with them on the street, but my skateboard was too big for me and I didn’t have that much strength in my legs yet. But I practiced a lot and I got to a point where I didn’t have so much trouble anymore.” This week, Hawk joined Leal at the Olympics to support her. “Six years ago he introduced me to the world of skateboarding by sharing my video wearing a fairy costume. Today, he filmed me at the Olympics,” Leal wrote on Instagram. “This is all so amazing, I’m living a dream! Thank you @tonyhawk to being so kidding [sic] and always motivating me.” Hawk commented, “You have exceeded all expectations! It’s been an honor to be involved in some small way. And thanks for the clips!” Leal previously revealed that she doesn’t skateboard for the sake of competition, but simply because she gets pure, intrinsic enjoyment from the sport. “There was not a moment when I realized that I could compete, it just happened. I skate because I like it and have fun doing it. And I also really like being able to get to know new people and places. Skateboarding gives me that,” she said. She added of her family’s support, “They don’t pressure me to always win and be first, they encourage me to do what I like, which is skateboarding. Their support, along with the lack of pressure, allows me to be calmer and more relaxed to have fun all the time, even during tournaments.”
Did Rayssa Leal win gold at the Olympics?
Japan’s Momiji Nishiya took home the gold medal for women’s skateboarding at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Nishiya is Japan’s youngest-ever gold medalist at 13 years and 330 days old. If Leal had won gold, she’d have been the youngest gold medalist ever at 13 years and 203 days old. Though Nishiya took home the coveted gold, there clearly are no hard feelings, as Leal and Nishiya gave each other sweet hugs at the competition. Meanwhile, the official Olympics Twitter account honored Leal’s progress from child phenom to teen medalist. Fans also made videos of Leal throughout her short but already stellar skating career, showing her progress from adorable child to amazing young athlete: Leal previously got support from Brazilian skating legend Leticia Bufoni, who said she saw parallels between herself and the tween phenom in February. “Rayssa Leal, aka Fadinha,” Bufoni told Red Bull. “The way she arrived at competitions, the way she appeared, reminds me a bit of how I got to the X Games in 2007. She certainly has a bright future and is still very young. It’s bizarre how girls and boys today start skating at an already very advanced level.” No kidding—they even both had wings. Next, show your love for Team USA with Olympics emojis!
