NOSTALGIC WIN FOR FRENCH SKATEBOARD STAR

 

Chengdu China appears to be a lucky charm for 19-year-old French skateboarding star Joseph Garbaccio who won the FISE Skateboard Street Pro competition Sunday.

“I’m pretty nostalgic because my first ever international competition was FISE Chengdu three years ago—where I won as well,” said Garbaccio.

Initially the site of his breakthrough to professional sports, Chengdu proved the perfect lucky charm for a return from injury this time around. After touring Brazil with the French team and moving to the USA, the talented young rider secured the Montpellier stop then promptly hurt his ankle, sidelining him for two months of this season.

The setback wasn’t evident Sunday as he soared through the air scoring big props from both judges and crowd for his amplitude. His four-and-a-half metre transfer indie proved particularly impressive, though he packed his winning run our with a front-flip down the rail, mollie manual, back disaster, flip front-board and hurricane, to name but a few moves. 

He also secured two of the three “best trick” wins, following the first leg of the competition.

 

The finals saw the best 12 riders from Saturday’s semi-final round showcase their talent in two one-minute runs, with the best run of two determining their result.

The judges look for the skater’s amplitude, speed, flow, and style, along with the athlete’s technical ability, the degree of difficulty of the tricks showcases, his uprightness and ability to explore the whole park.

“It was a nice contest with a high level of riders coming out from all around the world, and we have a nice experience with the Chinese crowd” said Julien **, head judge. 

FISE opens each of its contests to any athlete who wants to compete. This competition had a qualification Friday, and the top 18 joined the FISE World Series 2016 winner and top five from FISE standings for a Semi-Final. 

Twelve riders competed Sunday before a large Chinese crowd who showed particular affinity for the younger of the riders on course.

Stay tuned! FISE will announce its 2018 calendar later this month.

 

1. Joseph Garbaccio - France  watch his run

2. Konstantine Kabanov - Russia  watch his run

3. Martin Pek - Czech Republic  watch his run

 

Watch the replay of the final :