From videogame to the Olympics. Skateboarder would like to win medal
Image of skateboarding is changing.
For a long time, citizens would call the police when boys and girls rode skateboards in the streets. They were viewed as mere delinquents, their choice of activity not comparable to sports such a football or swimming. Luckily for the youth, this attitude has been slowly changing. And though one of the biggest skateparks recently opened in Bratislava, the country still lacks a quality one.
Despite all this, surprisingly, Slovakia will be represented in this sport at the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, reports Sportnet.
"When I started, skate parks didn't exist. We rode on the street, we were called 'the ones who destroyed everything'. We were kicked out, the police even fined me for riding a skateboard," recalls skateboarder Richard Tury, who will compete in the Men's Street discipline. It involves a flatter course peppered with rails and steps to mimic the sport's urban origin. The other discipline is Men's Park, which involves ramps, jumps and bumps.
Out of 22 athletes in Tury's discipline, he is one of five Europeans.
It started with a videogame
His life changed the moment he started doing his first tricks in the video game Tony Hawk Pro Skater. He quickly fell in love with the sport. He tried his first tricks at the Ťahanovce Housing Estate in Košice. He has been riding and show jumping for 24 years.
Tury's life changed when he first played a videogame from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series. He immediately fell in love with the sport, landing his first tricks in the Košice neighbourhood of Ťahanovce. The 31-year-old skateboarder has been skating for 24 years.
"Now that skateboarding is an Olympic sport, interest in it is growing. I started skating on the street and now I'm going to the Olympics. I'm very grateful to make a living like this," he says.
Tury belongs among the top skateboarders in the world, as evidenced by his results; he placed fifth at the World Championships in Dubai last year. At the last competition in June in Budapest, Hungary, he finished fourth.
"[At the Olympics] I would like to advance to the finals. That is, among the best eight. However, there is no telling how it will turn out. Someone can have a good day in the finals, someone else not. If I manage to land what I want, I will be happy," Tury said.
"First place is probably unrealistic. I see where the best are. If everything works out for me, maybe I can finish third," he adds.
He has a chance
Tury will compete on the first day of the games on Saturday, August 27. The skaters complete 2 heats with the better result counting. Then, each will perform five tricks with the two best counting. Subsequently, the best eight skaters advance to the finals and the process repeats.
According to his coach Tomáš Vintr, Tury has a chance because his results are consistent and he knows the tricks.
"If conditions are good, Richard knows his tricks 100 percent so he can win a medal," Vintr opines.
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