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Three skateboarding prodigies to watch at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics

Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Some of the youngest athletes at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics will be skateboarders born decades after the historically anti-establishment sport first emerged in the empty swimming pools and sidewalks of Venice Beach, Ca. 

In the U.S. we have a long track record of captivation (verging on obsession) with young female athletes performing superhuman feats, especially in gymnastics. But this summer, we will be introduced to an entirely new image of girl athlete, from a sport that prides itself on being unconventional and transgressive.

Making its Olympic debut, the skateboarding competition is divided into two events: Street and Park. The Street course includes stairs, rails, curbs, and slopes. The Park course has deep bowls with smooth vertical walls for tricks with more arial height. Athletes specialize in one or the other, and right now three of the top six overall ranked skaters on the women’s side are youngsters just 12-14 years old. 

These three young skater girls are poised to compete for Olympic gold while transforming our concept of what a world-class athlete is.

Misugu Okamoto – Park

Fourteen-year-old Misugu Okamoto took up skateboarding at age eight and has been on a vertical trajectory, both in the park and in the rankings, ever since. In 2019 she went five for five in international competitions and has placed first in four of the last five Olympic qualifying events. 

Now sitting at the number one spot in the World Skate rankings, the Japanese born and raised teen is looking to win the first ever gold medal in Skateboarding Park in her home country this summer.

Okamoto first got hooked on skating when she began joining her brother at a local skate park. It was there that she began training with a family of pro skaters known as TRIFORCE. Just before finishing sixth grade, Okamoto left home to live full time in the TRIFORCE household so that she could train with her coaches six days a week. If it were up to her, it would likely be seven, but the park where they practice is closed on Mondays.

Similar to half pipe in snowboarding, park skating is all about landing the most difficult tricks. One of those is the 540, where the skater rotates a full 360 degree plus another 180 degrees in the air before landing. 

Okamoto’s 540s have carried her far in competition thus far, but now that many skaters are conquering this high-level trick, her coaches know she needs to keep pushing the envelope to stay ahead of the pack. And Okamoto feels the pressure. When the Olympics were postponed due to the pandemic, there was no relief in thoughts of extra rest. As she told Dew Tour early in the shut down, “I feel pressured from the pause. It means I need to progress more, now that there is time.” 

When Olympic action gets underway this summer, the world will get to see what tricks Okamoto has added and if it’ll be enough to win her the gold.

Rayssa Leal – Street

One of the latest phenoms to come out of Brazil is 13-year-old Rayssa Leal. Although she only just began to appear on pro event podiums, her introduction to the global skate world came at age seven, when Tony Hawk reposted a clip of her heel flipping down a set of stairs in a fairy costume. 

In the years since, she has proven she is way more than just a viral video, and in her first international competition she skated her way onto the podium, earning 3rd place at Street League World Tour London 2019, the first Olympic qualifying event for Tokyo. A few months later, she became the youngest skater to ever win a Street League Skateboarding event when she took first place at SLS Los Angeles at just 11-years-old. Yes, ELEVEN years old.

With podium finishes in all but one Olympic qualifying event, Leal is sitting solidly at number two overall in the World Skate Street rankings. The youngest of four Brazilian women in the top ten Street rankings, Leal is hoping to add Olympic medalist to her growing list of accolades.

 Sky Brown – Park

Chances are good that in the not-so-distant future, Sky Brown will be a household name. Similar to Leal, videos of Brown as a little kid on a skateboard went viral starting when she was just four-year-old. Now twelve, Brown has a YouTube channel with 266K subscribers, almost 800K followers on Instagram, an official music video, and a book. She loves to surf, is learning to play guitar, wants to be a dancer, is into clothes and make-up, and also just happens to have insane skateboarding skills that back up all the hype and media attention. The smiley TikTok loving teen is currently ranked third in the world in Park skating.

After Brown suffered a horrific fall in May 2020 while practicing on Tony Hawk’s 14 ft. ramp, her parents would have been fine if she never wanted to skate again. But in the days following the accident that left her with multiple skull fractures, a broken arm, broken fingers, and lacerations to her lungs, Brown’s love for the sport revealed itself to be stronger than ever. Within a few weeks, she was back on her board and was as determined as ever to get back to pushing the envelope in the air. 

As Lucy Brown, head of Skateboard Great Britain, described her to ESPN last summer, “She’s in the category of women and girls that are going to be sort of achieving ‘NBDs’. That’s what we call ‘Never Been Done.’ She’s going to be one of the first girls to land a 720. She’s going to be a girl that’s going to push it with tricks that haven’t been landed by women yet.” 

With skateboarding on the global stage this summer, the world will get to see just how far this fearless youngster is ready to push it.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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