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
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.