WST Street Skateboarding Rome 2023: 14-year-old Liz Akama tops women's semi-finals - results
A rain-delayed semi-final did little to dampen the charge of the Japanese teen who pipped Tokyo 2020 medallist Rayssa Leal to first place in the women's semi-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifier, streaming live on Olympics.com.
Skateboarding
Liz Akama of Japan showed style and consistency to lead the top eight skaters advancing to the women's final at the 2023 WST Street Skateboarding event in Rome.
Despite a shower of summer rain delaying the wait time between the two semi-final heats on Saturday (24 June), the 14-year-old, who finished fourth at last year's contest in Italy, remained unfazed as she produced the highest combined score after the two runs and five best trick attempts to qualify on top.
Finishing in second was Brazilian Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Rayssa Leal, who came alive in the best trick section to punch her ticket through to Sunday's final in second place. She was followed by Oda Yumeka in third.
In another strong showing by Japan, five skaters, including Oda and Akama, successfully qualified for the final round. Among them was Olympic champion Nishiya Momiji, who took the honour of marking the night's highest-run score, putting down an 80.77 line.
13-year-old Yoshizawa Coco, competing in heat two, had looked to also be in contention for a finals spot but took a significant fall while practising between runs meaning she ultimately fell out of contention and missed the cut.
Also making it through was Australia's Chloe Covell, whose appearance in Sunday's final will mark the third consecutive time she has made it to the final of a Paris 2024 Olympic skate qualifying event.
Pamela Rosa and Team USA's Poe Pinson were among those missing out on the final. They finished in 13th and 11th respectively.
In addition to the title, Olympic qualification ranking points are on the line for skateboarders competing in Rome.
The semi-finals and finals are all broadcast live and available to watch again in full on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com.
WST Street Skateboarding Rome 2023: Women's semi-finals results
Women's semi-finals - Saturday 24 June
The top 8 progressed to the finals.
How to watch WST Street Skateboarding Rome 2023 live
Livestream coverage of WST Street Rome is available worldwide on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and will include the finals on Sunday 25 June.
You can find all the latest on your favourite skateboarders including news, interviews and updates from Rome on Olympics.com and the apps for mobile and connected TV devices.