Commanding Chloe Covell leads top 16 skaters through to women’s street semi-final at OQS Budapest

Olympic Qualifier Series

The Australian teenager finished over eleven points clear of second place to secure a place in the Olympic Qualifier Series semi-final in Budapest on Friday (21 June). 

3 minBy Chloe Merrell
Chloe Covell at OQS Budapest 

(Handout image supplied by OIS/IOC. Olympic Information Services OIS.)

Chloe Covell’s flick was back. And back at its best.

The Australian's first trip to the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) in Shanghai didn’t result in her first road to Paris 2024 victory. But early signs from Budapest point to Covell having already moved onwards and upwards.

Hitting the park in a stacked heat four of the women’s street prelims under the light of the retreating sun, the 14-year-old attacked the course with a determined air. Cruising from trick to trick, the Covell from the Shanghai final that battled with her board, seemed a distant memory.

With her first run effort, Covell launched straight to the top of the leaderboard with an 81.15 score. And when the time came to go again, the young Aussie injected tweaks and improvements to bump up her second run score to 88.47.

It would see her finish over eleven points clear of second-place finisher Akama Liz of Japan (76.89) and 14 points clear of Oda Yumeka in third (73.77).

“Amazing”, Covell said with a grin from ear to ear as she described what it meant to have qualified on top following her first OQS stop. “To get both runs down and especially my hardest one."

She added: “I’ve had that [Shanghai] and learned from it and I just hope this comp goes really well.”

Covell wasn’t the only skater with a point to prove following events in the OQS in the People's Republic of China.

World champion Oda, who exited the contest in Shanghai after the prelims much to the shock of the rest of the field, showed with her third place that she also has come back stronger.

With all six of Japan’s skaters through to the semi-finals in Budapest - including Olympic medallists Nishiya Momiji and Nakayama Funa - the already intense battle for one of the three available NOC quota spots for Paris 2024 Olympic Games has ratcheted up one level further.

If Oda, currently ranked fifth among Japanese skaters is to make her Olympic debut in France she will need to carry her prelim form through to the semis.

Joining Covell and the six representatives from Team Japan through to the next stage were US skaters Poe Pinson and Paige Heyn, who qualified 13th and 14th respectively. Number one-ranked skater Rayssa Leal is not competing in Budapest.

OQS Budapest is the last chance for skaters to accrue ranking points which will be used to determine the final field for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The semi-final of the women's street contest will take place on Saturday 22 June, with the final scheduled for Sunday.

All the skateboarding action from the Olympic Qualifier Series Budapest is available to stream live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com the official Olympics app for mobile devices. Territorial restrictions may apply.

Olympic Qualifier Series: Women's street prelim results

The top 16 advanced to the semi-final.

The best score of two runs.

  1. Chloe Covell (AUS) - 88.47
  2. Akama Liz (JPN) - 76.89
  3. Oda Yumeka (JPN) - 73.77
  4. Roos Zwetsloot (NED) - 72.64
  5. Yoshizawa Coco (JPN) - 72.63
  6. Zhu Yuanling (CHN) - 71.81
  7. Ito Miyu (JPN) - 70.18
  8. Nakayama Funa (JPN) - 68.89
  9. Liv Lovelace (AUS) - 67.93
  10. Cui Chenxi (CHN) - 65.92
  11. Nishiya Momiji (JPN) - 62.88
  12. Jazmin Alvarez (COL) - 61.67
  13. Paige Heyn (USA) - 58.66
  14. Poe Pinson (USA) - 55.78
  15. Zeng Wenhui (CHN) - 55.69
  16. Vareeraya Sukasem (THA) - 55.42
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