After a successful Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 (in 2021), skateboarding is again on the programme of the Olympic Games, in Paris in 2024. The occasion on which to discover or rediscover this spectacular discipline: its history, places to skateboard in Paris, where and when the Olympic competition takes place …
Skateboarding originated in the early 1950s, in California. Surfers craving waves put wheels on their boards, and that was the beginning of ‘sidewalk surfing’, later renamed skateboarding. Very quickly, skateboarding - based on the principles of freedom, rebellion, and thrill-seeking** - established itself as one of the iconic sports of the Californian underground. **. The first international competition was organized in 1963 in Hermosa Beach, in California.
In the 1970s skateboarding took on the form we know today when the Z-Boys took skateboarding to the empty swimming pools of the Los Angeles suburbs. This marked the emergence of bowls, present in the majority of skateparks today. The sensations of bending and gliding are like those of surfing.
Skateboarding became world famous in 1995 thanks to the X Games** - a spectacular sports competition - during which the discipline received unprecedented media coverage. The number of people skateboarding now ranges from 20 to 40 million worldwide. Getting equipped couldn't be simpler: a board (or deck), two trucks (or axles) and four wheels.
The year 2021 saw the Olympic consecration of the discipline at ** the Tokyo Games** after having been a demonstration sport at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing (2014) and Buenos Aires (2018). After the popular success in Tokyo, skateboarding is again on the Olympic programme at the Paris 2024 Games. Two women's and two men's events are planned in: park and street. The former features a course including bowls (empty pools), while the latter replicates an urban setting with stairs and rails.
The objective for competitors: perform the best tricks to get a good score from the judges, first in the qualifying phase and then during the final.
© Paris je t'aime
Among the scoring criteria used to evaluate competitors:
In Tokyo 2020 (in 2021), the Japanese competitors won 3 of the 4 gold medals. In the women’s events, Sakura Yosozumi (park event) and Momiji Nishiya (street event) won Olympic gold medals. In the men’s events, the Australian Keegan Palmer (park event) and the Japanese Yuto Horigome (street event) won gold. Olympic titleholders to watch at the Paris 2024 Games, as well as the 2023 world champions:
As a foretaste of the Paris Games, come and see some of these athletes at the Adidas Arena on the occasion of the 2024 SLS (Street League Skateboarding) Championship Tour.
© Pairs je t'aime - Amélie Dupont
In Paris, there are many, freely accessible places to skateboard!
Some associations also give paying group skateboarding lessons, (by the year or just for a session):
And because the Paris 2024 Games go beyond sport, go along to SPOT24, our unique multipurpose venue devoted to the new Olympic disciplines. Situated close to the Eiffel Tower, SPOT24 presents an exhibition of objects from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne as well as original works, plus special events, battles, and introductory sport sessions devoted - among others - to skateboarding.
© Paris 2024
The Paris 2024 Games are giving skateboarding a prime location! The events will take place on Place de la Concorde in the 8th arrondissement. The famous square, situated between the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the Tuileries Gardens, will be transformed into** an outdoor open stadium** during the Games. The skateboarding street events will take place on 27 and 28 July 2024 and the skateboarding park events on 6 and 7 August 2024.
© QUARTIERG
His constant progress comes just at the right time for the Paris 2024 Games, where he will he'll be going for Olympic gold on home ground. This precocious skateboarder** from Lyon - he got his first skateboard at the age of 4 - who has his own wax statue at the Musée Grévin in Paris came sixth at the Tokyo Games in 2021, when skateboarding made its Olympic debut in the street event. Crowned World Champion 2023 - a first for a Frenchman - in the United Arab Emirates, Aurélien Giraud will be one of the favorites for the Olympic title. A spectacular and emotional performance guaranteed at the Paris 2024 Games!
