Coco Yoshizawa (; born 22 September 2009) is a Japanese

skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United Stat ...

. She competed at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

and won the gold medal in the women's street event.

Biography

Yoshizawa was born on 22 September 2009 in

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, Japan, and grew up in

Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...

. At the age of seven, she first tried out

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

through the influence of her brother. She initially viewed it as "just a hobby" and learned tricks from someone at a local park. At the age of 11, she watched the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and saw 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya win the gold medal with a move that Yoshizawa had already been able to perform. She did not have a phone at the time and did not use social media, and thus she "wasn't plugged into skateboarding culture ndshe and her family had no idea how good she was," according to ''

Self In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...

''. After the 2021 Olympics, Yoshizawa started to compete in tournaments. She participated in the Japanese national championships that year and placed fifth. In 2022, she competed in the Japan Open, finishing eighth. She was second at the 2023 Uprising Tokyo tournament and later that year placed fifth at the World Championships. In 2024, she won bronze at the 2024 World Skateboarding Tour

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, competing in the street skating event. She competed at the 2024 Olympic Qualifier Series and placed third at the first event, then first at the second to secure qualification for the

, being age 14 at the games. In the semifinals at the 2024 Olympics, Yoshizawa recorded the top score, with 258.92 points, securing a spot in the finals. In the final, she successfully performed a "big spin flip frontside boardslide" and won the gold medal with a score of 272.75, ahead of

Liz Akama is a Japanese skateboarder who won a silver medal in women's street skateboarding at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Career She began skateboarding in second grade with encouragement from her father, who was a surfer. Aside from her Olympic medal, ...

and

Rayssa Leal Jhulia Rayssa Mendes Leal (born 4 January 2008) is a Brazilian professional skateboarder who won a silver medal in women's street skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Early life Leal was bor ...

References

External links

Coco Yoshizawa
at The Boardr * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshizawa, Coco 2009 births Living people Japanese female skateboarders Olympic medalists in skateboarding Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Japan Skateboarders at the 2024 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Kanagawa Prefecture Olympic skateboarders for Japan 21st-century Japanese sportswomen