Leticia Bufoni and Pedro Barros outline plans for the Paris Olympics

Leticia Bufoni and Pedro Barros, two of the most victorious and world-renowned Brazilian skateboarders, hope that participating in the Tokyo Games will not be the only Olympic experience in their careers.

Four months after competing in Japan, they say they are ready to face the cycle until Paris-2024, when they hope to experience a very different moment from the one witnessed in the sport’s debut at the Olympics.

In the case of Pedro, 26, not for the result, as he ended up with the silver medal in the park modality. Leticia, 28, had less reason to leave the track satisfied, outside the end of the street.

Both still hope to experience an edition of the Games without the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, with the presence of an audience in the arenas and alongside people close to them.

“I think a lot about Paris. I think it will be the real Olympic experience if everything improves by then, so we can have an audience, take our family and friends. Hopefully it works out. I want to compete well again next year.” , stated Leticia to leaf in Florianópolis, where he was last weekend to follow the Red Bull Skate Generation.

She did not participate as a competitor in the event, organized by one of her sponsors and which brought together athletes more specialized in parks at Pedro Barros’ track.

After Tokyo, Leticia won a tournament in Paris and competed in two stages of Street League Skateboarding in the United States, but did not make it to the podium. Afterwards, he gave up competing for the Super Crown, the final of the world circuit held in November, in Florida, and the STU Open, the main Brazilian tournament, which took place earlier this month, in Rio de Janeiro.

Off the slopes, he recently launched his own line of Nike sneakers and a shape model in partnership with the British Sky Brown, 13, called Monarch Project.

“I decided to take a ‘break’ from competition in the last two months, a break for the body, because we had an intense year. I wanted to enjoy it a little, come to events like this and enjoy it, because when I’m competing I can’t relax at any time “, he said.

The skater will spend Christmas and New Year in Brazil before returning to the US in January. Still without a set calendar for next year, she plans to return to tournaments close to April.

Even absent from competitions, Leticia claims to be always “on the skateboard” so as not to lose the rhythm. He has also dedicated more time to other passions, such as surfing and cars, especially drift (steering technique based on sliding the vehicle through curves). On the Super Crown weekend, she was in Brazil for the F1 GP in São Paulo.

“Doing these sports also helps me a lot on skateboarding, and I’m managing to reconcile. I was pretty tired, so I decided to take a break from competitions. When the F1 opportunity came up, it was perfect, because it was a weekend when I really wanted to rest . I had incredible moments in F1 and I don’t regret having changed,” he explained.

She and Pedro know that competition in the sport tends to increase after the Olympic debut. The second half tournaments highlighted other talents who also intend to go to Paris and should raise the level of contention in the coming years, in a cycle shorter than usual because of the postponement of Tokyo-2020.

After winning the silver medal, the native of Santa Catarina compared the object desired by so many athletes to a “souvenir” and declared that the experience he would take in his life was much greater than a material item. On his return to the country, he gave the medal as a gift to his mother.

Despite the speech that at the time caused an impression of detachment from the result, he admits that he felt some pressure to perform well in Japan. “It was the first skateboarding Olympics and I have a unique trajectory in the park. it’s lighter, I already know a little about the rural path, I know what to expect if I really want to dedicate myself,” he said.

Pedro’s father and one of his great supporters in the sport, André Barros believes that, with the pressure left behind, his son will be able to seek an even better result, but without the feeling that there is a need to come back with a medal.

“Even with the level increasing, if he trains for two years, he may have a chance of winning a medal. Not that it’s the objective, but he sees himself in there. I think he’ll want to get this gold, he got a taste in his mouth”, he said.

Pedro Barros confirms the desire and sees himself at his peak as an athlete at 26 years old, willing to pursue new feats. “In the end, whoever competes wants the highest place on the podium. I wanted to win this gold. The silver was wonderful, the message we gave was wonderful. I’ll leave it in the hands of the universe and in a light way, but I know I still have it a lot of skateboarding to show.”