Leticia Bufoni sets a world record at the X Games, her last major competition before her Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2020.
L. Bufoni Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
The Brazilian skateboarder who just won her fifth straight street title also became the sport’s all-time winningest female competitor.
Leticia Bufoni, a Brazilian skateboarder, is bringing something special to Tokyo 2020 in 2021: a record-breaking fifth gold medal from the X Games Street.
The 28-year-old skateboarder made history in Vista, Southern California, at the X Games 2021 when she won the Women’s Skateboard Street discipline.
This is her 12th Medal at the X Games, and Sixth gold Overall.
The fate of the race hinged on Bufoni’s last sprint. And she came through in the clutch, performing flawlessly to finish first, ahead of Poe Pinson and Samarria Brevard of the United States.
This victory will undoubtedly give Bufoni a boost of confidence as he prepares to compete in the Olympic Games, where skateboarding will be introduced for the first time in Tokyo.
In the street category, Bufoni now holds the fourth spot in the world, behind only fellow Brazilians Pamela Rosa and Rayssa Leal. Aori Nishimura, Japan’s best Olympic hope, is now in third place.
Bufoni and fellow American skateboarder Dashawn Jordan recently appeared in a short film in which they discussed their respective struggles with mental health and their preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The Brazilian, who resides in Los Angeles with her Brazilian family, has discovered that having a support dog helps ease her anxieties and feelings of being alone.
I felt so comfortable, and I most certainly do not feel lonely, when I had the puppy. “When I had the dog, everything goes away,” she said.
She describes the anxiety she experiences just before competition and the internal pressure she feels to do well.
Skateboarding Girls on the Street
For the past decade, Leticia Bufoni has been an example of reliability in street skateboarding, consistently placing in the top three at the X Games Women’s Skateboard Street competition every year from 2010 to 2014.
In 2017, Bufoni won a bronze medal at the X Games, putting him back on the podium where he belongs. Bufoni seems to be hitting her stride in the latter part of the decade. Both in 2018 and 2019, she won gold at the X Games, and she hoped to keep her winning streak going into the next decade.
With one Skater Remaining, Samarria Brevard was in First Place and Almost there.
That skater was a four-time Olympic champion, which is bad news for Brevard. Bufoni finished with a perfect run, moving ahead of Brevard in the standings.
In the history of Women’s Skateboard Street, Bufoni has won more gold medals than anybody else. She is headed to Tokyo to represent Brazil in skateboarding in the Olympics, where she hopes to add to her collection of gold medals.
