WST Dubai Street 2024: Liz Akama snatches victory on last trick in the women's final
The Japanese teenager edged Australian teen Chloe Covell into second place with compatriot Yoshizawa Coco finishing third on Sunday (10 March).
Japanese sensation Liz Akama snatched victory from Chloe Covell’s grasp with her final trick to win the battle of the teens and the women's street skateboarding final at WST Dubai Street 2024 on Sunday (10 March).
Entering the trick section in third place, Covell led the pack after she produced two stunning runs.
She threw down the gauntlet, moving to the top of the leaderboard on her first run, and upped the ante on her second run with a superb score of 93.49. With this, Covell became the only athlete to score above 90 points.
The Australian then struggled with consistency during the trick section, however, landing only two of her attempts, which gave Akama a fighting chance at winning the competition.
Showing composure that belies her years, Akama launched into her final trick - a frontside 270 lipslide. To the delight of the crowd, the 15-year-old stuck the landing and moved back into the lead with a winning total of 270.84.
Covell needed to score at least 87.22 on her final attempt but fell on her last trick, handing Akama the victory and settling for second place with a total of 267.29. Yoshizawa Coco finished third with a score of 253.79.
"I’m so happy right now," Akama beamed as she spoke to Olympics.com after her victory and second World Skateboarding Tour win.
"I ran out of things to do for the last trick, so I just gave it a go and happened to land it. When I spent time recovering from my injury last year I was upset because everybody improved themselves a lot. This result made me relieved but I know I have to work harder."
Brazil's Rayssa Leal placed last despite finishing the run section in second place, as she could only land one of her five tricks.
World champion Oda Yumeka and Olympic gold medallist Nishiya Momiji failed to make the cut for the final.
WST Dubai Street 2024: Women's final results
- Liz Akama (JPN) – 270.84 (87.84 + 89.83 + 93.17)
- Chloe Covell (AUS) – 267.29 (93.49 + 90.14 + 83.66)
- Yoshizawa Coco (JPN) – 253.79 (80.12 + 86.15 + 87.52)
- Matsumoto Ibuki (JPN) – 250.52 (83.19 + 78.42 + 88.91)
- Ito Miyu (JPN) – 243.98 (71.23 + 86.48 + 86.27)
- Fujisawa Nanaka (JPN) – 231.09 (73.25 + 88.76 + 69.08)
- Cui Chenxi (CHN) – 202.93 (29.12 + 87.31 + 86.50)
- Rayssa Leal (BRA) – 174.31 (84.16 + 90.15 + 0.00)
Full results can be found here.