Roos Zwetsloot: Finding her “peace” as the Olympic skateboarding journey ramps up
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com ahead of WST Lausanne Street 2023, the Dutch skater speaks about her skateboarding origins, finding fulfilment outside the skatepark and why the road to Paris 2024 is already tougher than to Tokyo.
Skateboarding
Roos Zwetsloot looks at her SLS Tokyo third-place trophy proudly.
“Last time it was less heavy,” the 23-year-old skateboarder muses.
The prize in her hands comes off the back of another competitive outing against the world’s best female skaters.
In a field featuring Olympic medallists Nishiya Momiji and Rayssa Leal, and young gun Chloe Covell currently in the form of her life, the Dutchwoman had managed to successfully carve out a space for herself on the podium, and for that, she was beaming.
“I feel really good about it,” Zwetsloot told Olympics.com with a smile. “I always aim for the podium and if that works, then I’m really happy.”
From hockey pitches to skate parks
Having been a part of the inaugural Olympic cohort that made their debut at Tokyo 2020, Zwetsloot is no stranger to street skating’s big leagues.
Since taking the sport up at the age of 12 after a small skatepark was built in her hometown, the Utrecht native has made a strong and steady rise up the World Skate street skateboard rankings.
It is a feat made all the more remarkable given it was something she started to do for fun alongside hockey, a sport she had dedicated herself to from the age of six.
“First, I saw some boys doing it, like, really cool stuff, and I was like, ‘Oh, I want to give it a try’. And then I met some friends at the skatepark and we went skating together, but I never really took it that seriously, it was more for fun, in my free time, besides school and other sports,” she says, painting the story of her skate origins.
“I finished field hockey when I was 18,” Zwetsloot continues.
“I had to make the decision to go for skateboarding or for field hockey. I really enjoyed it as well. It's like a team sport and we did it against other countries. It was really fun, but it was just too much to do both, so I had to choose.”
"I really enjoy pushing the limits"
There are certainly no signs of regret from Zwetsloot about her decision to deep dive into the world of skate.
Not only has she become a staple feature on the competition circuit but she has often translated those appearances into results, like her most recent podium finish in Tokyo. Also, in her cabinet are SLS third-place trophies from Chicago (2023) and Salt Lake City (2021) as well as a podium finish at Dew Tour 2021.
That she is still kicking it around near the top rungs is a testament to Zwetsloot’s continuing commitment to improvement, something which she says has become a must in this Olympic cycle.
“When we were trying to qualify for Tokyo, it was a different field, like other women competing. And it was all new and everything, and I was a bit younger, so it was really different,” she begins.
“Now I see other girls who are really progressing very fast, so I have to keep up with them.”
The ‘other girls’, who include Leal, Nishiya and Covell, have more than made the mark in the run-up to Paris with Japan in particular showing impressive depth with rising stars Liz Akama and Yumeka Oda also piercing their way through.
Staying in touch means Zwetsloot has to keep evolving. Fortunately for the skater, that’s something she relishes.
“I think I'm okay,” she says with quiet confidence.
“I just want to do my best at the contests and really get into the finals. That's my goal. And I hope it works out because sometimes I have a good day and then it goes really nice and then like the next day I'm a bit nervous or something and I just want to go all in and then I mess it up. So, I have to keep the balance between doing hard stuff and landing tricks.
“I really enjoy pushing the limits, she adds. “It's maybe a bit harder to get to the top like before, all the time but I really enjoy it, right now, the journey.”
“I really love skateboarding, but I also need some other things on my mind"
With its never-ending demands, be it the physical pain threshold of repeatedly hitting the ground to the mental challenges of trying to master something with pin-point precision, skateboarding at all levels can be relentless.
While Zwetsloot is staying committed to that course, one thing she has learned as she’s stayed on it is that doing things outside competing is important too.
“I really love skateboarding, but I also need some other things on my mind. And also, when I'm injured, I want to be busy with some other stuff as well,” the skater explains.
“It gives me some peace when I'm doing more stuff than skateboarding.”
Such things for Zwetsloot include her bracelet brand ‘Zwettie’ which are all handmade in Amsterdam by the skater and co-owner Kim Blewanus.
Another more recent project involved the skater designing an indoor skatepark in collaboration with ‘Women Skate The World’. The space is specifically dedicated to women and queer folk with the focus of making skateboarding more inclusive.
“We built it together with my coach and some help of some friends. And now we have a really nice indoor skate park in Amsterdam for a lot of people to just join,” Zwetsloot explains.
“I can also train there when it's like cold and raining. There’s a lot of rain in Amsterdam, so it's a really nice place.”
Zwetsloot, like all street skaters looking to make it to Paris 2024, will continue her journey to the Games at the next qualification stop at World Skateboarding Tour: Lausanne Street taking place 9-16 September in Switzerland.
There she will hope to put to test all the things she has learned from her trip to Japan including making her bag of tricks a little more technical to keep pace with her competitors.
On the subject of the Games in France and whether she would like to be there the Dutchwoman underlined her intent. The City of Light holds a special meaning for Zwetsloot and getting to compete there would be a fine finish to the hard work she has been putting in.
“I'm really excited about Paris. It's pretty near by our home in Amsterdam. And I've been in love with Paris, so I know the city a bit,” the skater says.
“I think it's going to be really cool with the family and friends coming if I can go. I hope I qualify.”