This Sunday, Portugal’s Gustavo Ribeiro finished second in the world in skateboarding at the World Cup final held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, where France’s Aurélien Giraud won.
The Portuguese Olympian, winner of the 2022 SLS Super Crown, scored 267.38 points in the final decision on the street in Sharjah, giving him second place behind Giraud (269.33).
In third place was 12-year-old Japanese Ginwu Onodera with a score of 263.04 points in the podium contest, in which the Portuguese athlete achieved the highest individual score of the competition with a score of 91.18 points.
Gustavo Ribeiro, 21, wins a new medal after already winning the world skateboarding circuit with a victory in the Super Crown of the Street League Skateboarding in November 2022 in Rio de Janeiro.
“To take second place and represent Portugal is a great achievement. I managed to improve my Olympic result. [de apuramento para Paris2024]. (…) It was not the result I expected and wanted, I always want first place. Now it’s time to focus and work on the next one. I did a maneuver that I have never done before, I was the first to do it, and I expected a little higher marks, “the athlete said shortly after winning the silver.
According to the skater, the emphasis has already been placed “on the next steps”, because this “vice” is “only the beginning” on the path to new achievements.
The achievements of the athlete were supported by the Secretary of State for Youth and Sports, Joao Paulo Correia, who praised the “excellent result” and the “excellent performance” achieved, and the President of the Portuguese Speed Skating Federation (FPP), Luis Senica, noted “a very important achievement for national skateboarding.”
Organized by World Skate, this World Championship dates back to 2022 as it was not held as planned in Brazil the previous year and is the highest ‘quoted’ event for the Olympic rankings with an eye on Paris 2024.
In the debut of the modality at the Olympics, Gustavo Ribeiro was eighth, having received a diploma.