Inspired Montreal skaters hoping to grind their way to the Olympics
Max Boucher takes skateboarding seriously.
He's been riding for years, even though he is only 13 years old.
Lately, he also has a keen interest in the Olympic Games because Women’s Street Skateboarding has made its debut in Tokyo.
When Japanese skateboarder Momiji Nishiya won gold in the women's finals, Max was watching.
“It was really cool," he said. "She did like really hard tricks and she's like super-young too, she's my age. I'm super impressed, it was really fun to watch.”
One of the 20 best women's street skateboarders in the world is Montrealer Annie Guglia.
She was a last-minute addition to the Olympic roster and did well, but didn't medal.
Even so, she is there at the games and making history. Annie first picked up a board 20 years ago and has inspired many women to try it, like Sylvie at the Verdun skate park.
“She's so amazing and so cool. You go, girl!” she said.
Betty Esperanza knows skateboarding and runs the foundation Skateboards For Hope.
“These girls are doing amazing," she said. "I'm floored especially Annie Guglia who got there last minute and her story is insane, she deserves to be there. and she's our Canadian representative.”
Skateboards For Hope has been advocating for youth on boards for years. The Olympics, she said, gives the sport credibility.
“(It) gives it respect, real respect that it deserves," said Esperanza. "It's a really hard sport and it deserves to be at the Olympics.”
She added that skateboarding is accessible and often attracts young people.
“It's a very democratic sport," she said. "One of the great things is that it's very inclusive and you don't really need a skate park.”
Her foundation wants to allow children to play and be creative, using skateboarding as a tool. If they discover a passion for the sport, her goal is complete.
From parks and pavement to the podium, skateboarding has gone from an outlier sport to the Olympic games. Max says watching the events energized him.
“I watched it and I was like, 'I wanna go right now to go skateboarding, I wanna go right now,'” he said with a laugh.
“This is the first year, it's not the end, it's just the beginning,” said Sylvie.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.