Rayssa Leal embracing change for Paris 2024: “I see it as a much greater evolution of Tokyo”
Standing on the top of the street skateboarding course, cap on and elbows back, you might not instantly single out Rayssa Leal as a superstar of her sport.
Dressed in loose-fitting clothes with headphones in, there isn’t much to distinguish Leal from any other skateboarder. Except, of course, if you happen to know the story of her meteoric ascent and current trajectory towards greatness.
It was during skateboarding’s debut at Tokyo 2020 in 2021 that Leal seemingly fulfilled a prophecy first written when she was a child.
A video of the young Brazilian, then just eight years old, performing a heelflip down a set of stairs dressed in a light blue fairy costume spread across the internet like wildfire until it eventually caught the eyes of Tony Hawk. “I don’t know anything about this but it’s awesome,” the legendary skater wrote in a caption as he joined in sharing the post.
The attention Leal garnered from the video only catalysed her rise as she began turning up and winning contests. When the Olympics eventually arrived and Leal took home the silver medal, it made sense. And for those that weren’t already aware of the prodigious talent, seeing a 13-year-old braces-wearing teenager smiling, laughing - and then succeeding - was just as fulfilling.
Inevitably, stardom struck. Leal became an icon in Brazil. Fashion brands pursued her; people stopped for photos, and celebrities became regular company. But perhaps most importantly, in the realm of skateboarding, she got even better.
Sitting for an interview with Olympics.com in Shanghai, then with over 50 days to go until the Games, it is with little surprise that change is the overriding theme for Leal approaching Paris.
“I see it as a much greater evolution of Tokyo. Because a lot has happened since Tokyo,” the Brazilian says, reflecting on the last three years. “Just seeing my evolution as a person; how much I’ve grown.”
Her body is one thing she identifies as different. Taller, and now much stronger thanks to hours spent in the gym, Leal says her upgraded frame has helped her become an even better skateboarder. Tricks that seemed beyond her size are now within her remit and her ability to deliver those has helped her maintain her position as a leader in women’s street with victories at the Street World Championships Sharjah 2022 and the first Olympic Qualifier Series stop in Shanghai the perfect proof.
Gym, school, and therapy
But it’s not just on the board as an athlete where Leal has evolved.
The weight of her success at the Games, something which she and her family never anticipated, compelled Leal to address other aspects of her life including her mental health.
Often unable to simply go out for dinner with friends or cross the street without being recognised by strangers, the Brazilian began working with a psychologist in 2022 to address certain fears and anxieties that had started to manifest, particularly around her skating.
“I was so scared of contests, always thinking ‘But what if I don't do well?' I was afraid of the obstacles, of them being too high. I know I can go for it, but my mind would be like ‘Don't try’”, Leal told Olympics.com in an interview at the World Championships in Sharjah, opening up about her use of therapy.
Speaking nearly 18 months later in Shanghai, Leal continued to pour the praise on her psychologist as she did in the United Arab Emirates, pointing to the other benefits that have come following their work together.
“Gym, therapy, doing my school properly... I'm well organised. My psychologist helped me a lot with this: to organise myself properly, organise my feelings, my energy. It helps everything in general, both in sports and in my personal life.”
"I'm already very excited"
For everything different about Leal’s life now, both as a person and as an athlete, she won’t be the only one who will come to France's City of Light with a new look.
Skateboarding, in the contest arena, has upgraded enormously thanks to Leal and others pushing the boundaries of possibility. Women’s skating, in particular, has reached new heights since Tokyo with a host of rising stars set to make breakthroughs when the Games begin.
It will also feel different in Paris.
The addition of crowds to the Olympic skateboarding stage will hand the skaters an energy they haven’t yet been able to tap into after the pandemic denied audiences the possibility to attend skateboarding’s Olympic debut.
A consummate show-woman, Leal identified the promise of fans as one of the things she is most looking forward to when she drops in at the Place de la Concorde urban sports park.
“Being in Paris, I think it won't be the same feeling as in Tokyo because the public will be there. It's going to be really cool, my whole family will be there so I'm already very excited.”
How a stronger, better, and more evolved Leal will do under the Olympic lights remains to be seen. Hers is a name that will be naturally uttered in medal talk when the women’s street competition begins on Sunday 28 July given her excellent results across the Olympic qualifying period following her medal in Tokyo.
But even with everything she has achieved perhaps the thing most worth noting about Leal in Paris is that evolution is a process, and she certainly hasn’t finished yet.