Kelly Murray sliding right into 1st place

The skateboarding world championships at the Kimberley Diamond Cup presented by Kumba Iron Ore kicked off today with the South African women’s street championships. Johannesburg skater Kelly Murray lifted the trophy for the second year running with Kimberley locals Boipelo Awuah and Natalie Bramley placing second and third respectively.

Skating in sweltering heat at the world-class Kumba Skate Plaza in the Northern Cape capital of Kimberley, both Murray and the 9-year old Awuah qualified for the Women’s Street World Championships taking place on Thursday.

26-year-old Murray has been skating for eight years and admits to being very nervous about skating with some of her icons. “Since I got a board for Christmas, I have been following these girls on the internet and watching them skate. It is exciting, yet nerve-wracking to think about going up against them.

The women’s street roster includes Americans Alana Smith, Alexis Sablone, Elissa Steamer, Lacey Baker, Marissa Dal Santo and Vanessa Torres, Aura Bredart from Belgium, Brazilians Gabriella Mazetto and Leticia Bufoni as well as Kat Williams from Australia and Russian Kate Shengeliya.

Stay tuned for more results!