Park skateboarding: Gavin Bottger leads men’s qualifiers into quarter-finals at Pro Tour stop in Argentina
Twenty-seven made it through at San Juan’s Skatepark Pocito for World Skate’s Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifier on Thursday (25 May). The world's top five await them there on Saturday.
Skateboarding
The men's quarter-finals are set for the World Skateboarding Pro Tour 2023 stop in San Juan, Argentina, with 27 skateboarders joining the top five in the world rankings after the qualifying round on Thursday (25 May).
The pro tour event is a pivotal stop as skaters look to punch their ticket to Paris 2024 via ranking points that will qualify them for the coming Olympic Summer Games.
Gavin Bottger qualified tops out of the 94-man field with an 83.13 on his first run followed by the Brazilian pair of Luigi Cini of (78.03) and Pedro Quintas (76.10).
Bottger most recently won bronze at X Games Chiba in Japan earlier this month, when he showed no signs of the broken wrist he suffered at the world championships in February.
Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Keegan Palmer qualified fourth (75.10). The bronze medallist there, Cory Juneau, was 12th on 70.32.
World champ Jagger Eaton is awaiting the qualifiers having received a bye into the quarter-finals due to his ranking. He's joined by fellow seeds Augusto Akio, Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Pedro Barros, Kieran Woolley and Tom Schaar.
Skaters' seedings are owed to their Olympic World Skate Ranking (OWSR). Skaters had two runs on Thursday, while from the quarters onward it will be the best of three 45-second runs, or until there is a fall, and the best score will be counted.
Some 179 Olympic hopefuls arrived in San Juan this week, all bidding to claim as many ranking points as they can. The women's quarter-finals are set for Friday. See how their qualifying round shaped out.
See more results below - plus a preview of the quarter-final field to come.
2023 World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park: Skaters to watch
Also in the next round is Japanese national champion Nagahara Yuro at ninth with 71.06. Not as fortunate was French hope Vincent Matheron, who just missed the cut after finishing 28th on this afternoon.
The quarter-finals are set to highlight a tight-as-can-be men's field.
Dual-threat Eaton, who is attempting to qualify for both the street and park contests at Paris 2024, will be looking to continue the standard he set in Sharjah after claiming the world title with a blistering third and final run but there will be plenty poised and ready to try and slow his momentum.
Brazilians Akio and Barros, who finished second and third in the desert, will present strong opposition as too will U.S. skaters Schaar, Bottger, Liam Pace and Tate Carew.
Palmer has a point to prove this week after his Worlds campaign in the United Arab Emirates ended in disappointment. Despite qualifying on top for the quarter and semi-finals, the Australian struggled on finals night finishing the contest in eighth. He will be looking to rectify his consistency in San Juan.
Palmer's countryman Olympian Woolley is also one to watch with his fourth-place finish at Worlds coinciding with a strong 2022.
2023 World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park: Schedule
This schedule is subject to change. All times are in UTC-3.
Friday 26 May
Women’s Quarterfinals (three 45-second runs or until first fall – best run counts)
- Heat 1 - 09:00-09:30
- Heat 2 – 10:20-10:50
- Heat 3 – 12:10-12:55
- Heat 4 – 13:30-14:15
Saturday 27 May
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Men’s Quarterfinals (three 45-second runs or until first fall – best run counts)
- Heat 1 - 09:00-09:30
- Heat 2 – 10:20-10:50
- Heat 3 – 12:10-12:55
- Heat 4 – 13:30-14:15
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Women’s Semi-finals (three 45-second runs or until first fall – best run counts)
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Heat 1 – 16:05-16:50
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Heat 2 – 17:10-17:55
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Heat 1 – 19:35-20:20
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Heat 2 – 20:40-21:25
Men’s Semi-finals (three 45-second runs or until first fall – best run counts)
Sunday 28 May
* Women’s Final (three 45-second runs or first fall – best run counts): 17:15 – 18:00
* Men’s Final (three 45-second runs or first fall – best run counts): 18:20 – 19:05
* Awards Ceremony: 19:35 – 20:05 -
2023 World Skateboarding Tour San Juan Park: How to watch live action
Livestream coverage of world street skateboarding championships action will be available on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com beginning with the semi-finals on Saturday 27 May and finishing with the finals on Sunday 28 May.
You can find all the latest on your favourite skateboarders including news, interviews and updates from Argentina, on Olympics.com and the apps for mobile and connected TV devices.