Skaters celebrate back to essence in farewell to Olympic year

Silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, skateboarder Pedro Barros, 26, remembered after competing in Japan that he and Australian Keegan Palmer, the first Olympic champion in the park modality, had already walked together at his home in Florianópolis.

The story served as an example of what skateboarding brought different and striking in its debut at the Games: the celebration of sport and friendship between athletes above individual rivalries.

Pedro and Keegan, eight years younger, shared the bowl (track that resembles a swimming pool) located in the Rio Tavares neighborhood in 2014, during the Red Bull Skate Generation. The competition organized by the company in the capital of Santa Catarina had another edition before entering a hiatus that lasted until 2021.

This Saturday (11), he returned to his place of origin, the RTMF bowl. It was the moment to say goodbye to a historic year and celebrate the realization of a “root” event.

“The guys are here to celebrate and make this party for the skaters. It’s a moment of our glory. We can be together, doing what we love the most and having fun with it,” stated Pedro Barros.

According to André Barros, influential figure on the scene and Pedro’s father, after the first Olympic cycle in the history of the sport, the objective was to value the “truth of skateboarding”.

“Here they are skaters, but at the Olympics they become athletes. There is a lot of pressure there, with sponsor, country, flag. Here they live life as they have always lived since they started skating. In the end it’s a competition, the whole world wants to give its best, but the energy is very different,” he said.

“We understood that it was cool to bring back our essence, especially the history of Rio Tavares, which brought our medal,” he added.

Yndiara Asp and Isadora Pacheco, who represented the country at the park in Tokyo, also live in the same region to the south of the island, which gained recognition for being a stronghold of bowls in the country.

Generation brought together around 500 people, including organizers and guests, who spread out along the side of the track and on a small grassy hill to watch the action.

The competition had 40 skaters and was played by eight teams, each with five members from three categories: “Under 21” (under 21), “The 90’s” (between 22 and 30) and “OG’s” (over 30 years old).

For the first time, there was a division between men and women in “Under 21” and “The 90’s”, which ensured the presence of 16 competitors in the event.

The victory was for the team formed by Pedro Barros, Weslley Carvalho, 19, the Americans Allysha Le, 25, and Minna Stess, 15, and the Danish Rune Glifberg, 47.

Second place went to Sandro Dias, 46, Yndiara Asp, 24, Luigi Cini, 19, Raicca Ventura, 14, and American Alex Sorgente, 24.

“We never want to lose and always try our best. Of course when you’re in an environment like this, which is a skate party, you end up having a lot more fun, but when you’re on the track you want to put on the best show,” said Sandro Dias .

The team that finished third had Miguel Catarina, 50, Isa Pacheco, 16, Camila Borges, 25, Augusto Akio, 20, and Gui Khury, 12.

The first athlete in history to hit a 1,080° turn on a half pipe, Bill lifted the crowd with impressive moves. When he was trying to send a 900°, however, he fell and hit his head on the cement. After being rescued on the track, he was removed from the competition space and taken to an ambulance.

“He was a little feverish, but he wanted to compete anyway. He was a little tired, beyond normal, and at the time he got excited doing the maneuver. With the fall I think everything came back. The tiredness hit and he wanted to give it a go. time, stay on the mother’s lap,” said Ricardo Khury, the boy’s father.

‘Friends of the Firm’

During the last few days, participants were able to get to know other classic strongholds of the sport in the region. On Friday (10), the teams were assembled during a free skate session at the Hi Adventure Inn.

The moment was a good summary of the event’s proposal. Between laps, skaters laughed, and a few sips of beer as well. Around the bowl were people of all ages and many parents who accompanied their children, as well as Glauber Rocha, a caramel cocker excited to venture onto the same stage as the skaters.

“The problem is that if he gets in, he can’t get out,” said the dog’s owner, known as the Marmoset.

There was also a scare at the beginning of the session, when Otavio Neto, 41, fell during the lap and had to be rescued. He later returned with his right arm bandaged and reminded those present that misfortune is also part of the essence of the sport.

“There’s a skateboard for all tastes. If you want to go to the Olympics, go, if you want to run the championship, if you want to drink a drink,” he declared, drawing applause.

The strengthening of the division between athletes who pursue results in skateboarding and others who are more dedicated to the sport as a lifestyle has been suggested since their entry into the Games program in 2016.

For André, both the Olympics and the scene benefited from inclusion, and access to the world of skateboarding is more democratic in Brazil. To keep it that way, he defends the maintenance of events like Generation.

“Either we take skateboarding for its best, doing it, or it will be just another sport. Then the Olympics will have to look for another sport that has what we sold them: the spirit, friendship, lifestyle thing “, he said.

Pedro ventured an analogy with the corporate world to explain the difference in participating in each tournament. “Here the skaters are working, dedicating themselves, but in a lighter way. It’s like taking a trip with friends from the firm. You’ll enjoy it, maybe even talk about business, but in the middle of a review. In the Olympics, it’s going to go to the office and having to perform in front of your boss, around the world and under pressure.”