Poe Shines in Paris Olympics
Fernandina Beach's Poe Pinson pulled off an extraordinary run in her final attempt to qualify for the medal competition in Olympic Street Skateboarding Sunday in Paris.
She finished 5th in the Gold Medal round attempting two difficult 540 tricks.
“Honestly I wasn’t really even concerned about a medal to be 100% real,” said Pinson, who scored a 222.34, according to USA Today. “I made it into the Olympics last minute and then didn’t expect to make it to the finals, made it to the finals and was like, 'whoa.' It was crazy. I’ve never really been the type to expect the medal."
In the qualifying round, Pinson had to land several tricks on her second run or she would miss the medal finals. Pinson nailed a solid 81.80 points on her fourth attempt, then landed an impressive 88.07-point score, which was the fifth-best score of all skaters in the preliminaries to grab the final eighth position in the Gold medal phase. On that run she did a perfect backside 5-0 that the NBC commentator derscribed as "very, very scary and you have to be so precise."
When her score popped up, the commentator said "they rewarded her because it was gnarly! Gives me a chill."
Medal Round Two 45-second runs
First Run: Poe took a creative route and got a backside 50/50 but missed her kick flip.
Second Run: Score 50.18 - Amazing had to have it run. Completed a fronstside smith grind followed by wallie and then a frontside board slide. Then a backside 50/50 and cross lock.
Best trick competition
After two runs, Poe sat in third place. Her first two tricks were not televised. But she had a solid 71.25 on her second run to remain high in contention
Poe scored an 88.43 on her third trick. She fell trying to land a 540, an aerial where the skater and board spin one and a half rotations in midair.
Poe took off her headphones, and on her last trick, she attempted another difficult 540, but spun out finishing the rotation.
“I like to use the adrenaline I get to try tricks that are scary for me," she said.
She skated off beaming ear-to-ear to cheers from the supportive crowd at Place de la Concorde.
Local supporters gathered at Mocama Beer Company on 8th Street to watch Poe compete.
“I didn’t even really land my run but I’m always happy if I can walk away, like walk away, you know, because there have been a few times where I have not been able to walk away,” Pinson said afterward, repoted USA Today. “It’s risky, it’s very taxing. Learning all these tricks is basically just slamming against the concrete for hours.”
Yoshizawa Coco, a 14-year-old from Japan, took home the gold with a score of 272.75. Alcama Liz, a 15-year-old also from Japan, grabbed silver with a score of 265.95 and 16-year-old Brazilian Rayssa Leaf secured bronze with a score of 253.37.
