Rayssa Leal
Leal at 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo
Personal information
Birth nameJhulia Rayssa Mendes Leal
NicknameFadinha (Little Fairy)
Born (2008-01-04) 4 January 2008
Imperatriz, Maranhão, Brazil
Height4 ft 10 in (1.47 m)[1]
Sport
CountryBrazil
SportSkateboarding
Medal record
Women's street skateboarding
Representing  Brazil
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2020 TokyoStreet
Summer X Games
Gold medal – first place2022 ChibaStreet
Gold medal – first place2023 ChibaStreet
World Championships - World Skate (WS)
Gold medal – first place2022 SharjahStreet
Silver medal – second place2023 TokyoStreet
Bronze medal – third place2021 RomeStreet
World Championships - Street League Skateboarding (SLS)
Gold medal – first place2022 Rio de JaneiroStreet
Gold medal – first place2023 São PauloStreet
Silver medal – second place2019 São PauloStreet
Silver medal – second place2021 JacksonvilleStreet
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Santiago Street

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.

Skateboarding career

Leal was born and lived in Imperatriz, the second largest city in Maranhão, and alternates school studies with training. She started training the sport at the age of six, after getting her first skateboard on her 6th birthday, a gift from a family friend.[2]

Leal first gained attention at the age of seven in internet videos of her skating in a tutu and jumping off tall structures on her skateboard. Leal's mother filmed the video on September 7, 2015, and sent it to American professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. The next day, Hawk reposted on Twitter and commented: "I don't know anything about it, but it's amazing: a fairytale-style heelflip in Brazil". At that time, he always made a post with the best maneuver of the day.[3][4] She was dubbed "A Fadinha do Skate", translated roughly as "The Little Fairy of Skateboarding".[5][6]

Early competitions

Mendes Leal competed in the 2019 Street League Skateboarding Championship in London, placing third with a score of 26.0, finishing above Alexis Sablone, Letícia Bufoni, and other skaters but behind fellow Brazilian Pamela Rosa and Australia's Hayley Wilson.[7][8] In July 2019, she placed first at the Street League Skateboarding Championship in Los Angeles, leading the podium ahead of Pamela Rosa and Alana Smith.[9] Also in 2019, she won a fourth place for her first X Games appearance.[10]

2020 Olympic Games

Rayssa Leal during the skate street race at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

She competed in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo at the age of 13, the youngest Brazilian ever to participate in the Olympic Games.[11] In the skateboarding street competition she placed 3rd in the qualifiers.[12][13][14] In the final, she won the silver medal.[15][16] At 13 years and 203 days old on medal day, she was the youngest Olympic medalist in 85 years[17][18][19] and became an instant celebrity, gaining 5.8 million new followers on Instagram.[20] The young athlete also won The Visa Awards following her display of sportsmanship towards her opponents during the competition. The prize is a $50,000 donation to a charity of her choice.[21]

2021-2024

On August 28, 2021, Rayssa won the opening leg of the 2021 Street League Skateboarding season, which took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. In the last round of tricks, Rayssa needed an 8.3 rating to pass Funa Nakayama and managed to get an 8.5 rating. It was, at that time, the highest score in women's SLS history, as no woman had achieved a 360º flip followed by a handrail maneuver until this point in an official competition.[22]

In April 2022, she won her first X Games gold medal, defeating Funa Nakayama and Chloe Covell. [23]

In November 2022, she won the 2022 SLS Super Crown in Rio de Janeiro.[24]

In December 2023, she won again the 2023 SLS Super Crown in São Paulo.[25] In the final, she got a 9 rating for the first time in her career. This achievement also made her the first woman to get a 9 rating in an SLS competition.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Menezes, Kiko; Merguizo, Marcel. "Da pequena Fadinha ao gigante Baby, veja curiosidades do Time Brasil nas Olimpíadas". GloboEsporte.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  2. ↑ Como presente de aniversário e conselho de amigo mudaram a vida de Rayssa Leal
  3. ↑ Inertia, The. "We Checked In On 10-Year-Old Skater Rayssa Leal and She Still Rips". The Inertia. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Avins, Jenni (9 September 2015). "Watch: This tiny skateboarder in a fairy dress is determination personified". Quartz.
  5. ↑ De fadinha às Olimpíadas: A trajetória de Rayssa Leal, a sensação brasileira no skate
  6. ↑ "Olympic Profile at Tokyo 2020 site". Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  7. ↑ "2019 SLS World Tour Stop One Women's Final". SLS - Street League Skateboarding. 26 May 2019.
  8. ↑ Morgan, Liam (26 May 2019). "Huston triumphs in men's event at World Skate SLS World Tour in London". www.insidethegames.biz.
  9. ↑ "11-year-old skateboarder with some serious skills". www.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ↑ "Minneapolis 2019 womens-skateboard-street". X Games. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  11. ↑ Rayssa Leal, a Fadinha, faz história e é prata no skate street nas Olimpíadas
  12. ↑ De fadinha às Olimpíadas: A trajetória de Rayssa Leal, a sensação brasileira no skate
  13. ↑ Rayssa Leal: Conheça a brasileira mais jovem da Olimpíada que já é fenômeno na internet
  14. ↑ "Skateboarding - Heat 2 Results". Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Women Skate Results". Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "Skateboarding - Final Results". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Women Skate Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Tóquio 2020: Rayssa Leal é a medalhista mais jovem dos Jogos em 85 anos; conheça os prodígios" (in Brazilian Portuguese). 26 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  19. ↑ Rayssa Leal, a Fadinha, faz história e é prata no skate street nas Olimpíadas
  20. ↑ "Simone Biles, Rayssa Leal: Which Olympians gained the most Instagram followers?". 11 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  21. ↑ "Fans vote Rayssa Leal as the winner of The Visa Award for inspirational display at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020". 12 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "Rayssa Leal brilha e conquista primeira etapa da Liga Mundial de Skate". 28 August 2021.
  23. ↑ "X Games Chiba 2022 Presented by Yogibo Day Three News and Results – Jagger Eaton and Rayssa Leal Earn First X Games gold medals; Monster Energy Men's Skateboard Street Japanese Podium Sweep". April 2022.
  24. ↑ Rayssa Leal é campeã da Liga Mundial de Skate Street
  25. ↑ https://ge.globo.com/skate/noticia/2023/12/03/rayssa-leal-e-campea-da-sls-super-crown-em-sao-paulo.ghtml
  26. ↑ Fontrodona, Marc (4 December 2023). "Rayssa Leal consigue el primer 9 de una mujer en la Street League". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 December 2023.
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