JOÃO SOARES WORLD CHAMPION in FREESTYLE and the Historic Defeat of the National Team at the Olympic Games
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The true History of Skateboarding in Portugal: Chapter IX – JOÃO SOARES WORLD CHAMPION in FREESTYLE and the Historic Defeat of the National Team at the Olympic Games
The year 2024 was a brilliant year for the Freestyle modality, the Portuguese João Soares once again won the title of World Champion in the Masters category, and also won the Best Trick, reaffirming his position as one of the all-time greats of this modality.
His cousin Francisco Patrone, debuting in the competition, reached 3rd place in the Amateurs category, consolidating the potential of a new generation of Portuguese talents. Thanks to the efforts of athletes like João and Francisco, Freestyle continues to gain national and international recognition.
Francisco Patrone is very dedicated to promoting Freestyle, and it is thanks to him that this modality has been increasing the number of interested parties in our country.
Contrary to what many people think, Freestyle is the only skateboarding modality in which Portugal has champions from an Official World Circuit, which makes all of us Portuguese proud.
In another aspect, the Olympic Games brought perhaps the biggest disappointment in the history of Portuguese skateboarding. Right at the airport when Gustavo Ribeiro left for Paris, posters were seen saying “The Gold is already ours” showing a clear excess of confidence and lack of humility more typical of a football culture than of Skater culture. LINK DO VIDEO
Gustavo Ribeiro didn’t even manage to qualify for the Street finals, while Thomas Augusto (born in Brazil with triple BR, USA, and PT citizenship), competed in Park and finished in 13th place.
It was even a case of saying “the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment”.
STREET
At the World Championships in Rome, the results also fell far short of expectations, with Thomas Augusto in 16th place, Gustavo Ribeiro in 17th, Madu Teixeira in 21st and Gabriel Ribeiro in 25th. No Portuguese athlete reached the podium, reinforcing the image of a year to forget.
PARK
STREET
In the last days of the year Gustavo Ribeiro finally achieved a result, 3rd place in the Street League Super Crown in Brazil, which saved him from having a completely blank season.
In Lusas, the decline of the Pro Skate League continued, with a reduction in the number of participants, and benches attended practically only by family members. The general public did not join in, and public criticism about the management and structure of the sport within the scope of the Portuguese Skating Federation (which insists on ignoring the existence of all other skateboarding disciplines) began to emerge mainly from athletes who participated for the first time in the LPS and were absolutely outraged by the judges’ scoring criteria, promising “the first and last time”.
For all of this, 2024 must require the following reflections:
- What are the FPP criteria for awarding the position of National Skateboarding Coach to a former swimmer who has never skated in his life?
- If mr. Coach Paulo Ribeiro knows how to swim but doesn’t know how to skate, how can he assess the skaters’ abilities?
- If mr. Coach Paulo Ribeiro knows how to swim but doesn’t know how to skate, how can he train athletes to skate?
- Apparently Thomas Augusto does not have enough quality to be called up for the Brazilian team, nor for the American team, but in Paulo Ribeiro’s opinion he is already suitable for the Portuguese team. What criteria did you have? Coach Paulo Ribeiro to select this athlete with triple nationality over all others?
- Mr. Coach Paulo Ribeiro travels the country from north to south observing skaters and effectively calls the best, or does he only recruit those who appear in “his” Pro Skate League and only exclusively men, thus preventing there from being equal opportunities for men and women?
- Mr. Coach Paulo Ribeiro travels the country from north to south observing skaters and effectively invites the best to Internships in Hotels with everything paid for, or does he only invite those who appear in “his” Pro Skate League and/or those who are friends of his children?
