10 Year Old Wins Women's VPS France - Watch Replay Of The Comp Here!
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| Kokona Hiraki ~ Photo Acosta for VPS |
The girls on the podium at major skate comps are getting younger and younger, perhaps because the women before them blazed a trail of possibility and equal pay. And now that these contests have an "open path to compete" as opposed to being "invite-only", we are seeing girls from countries all over the world taking women's skateboarding to a new level.
Waking up at 3 AM PDT to watch the VPS France comp live was well worth it because the women's finals at were insane! And it really wasn't just the newcomers or the under 12 set, it was every single girls and woman who made the finals - they were all on FIRE.
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| Pooppy Olsen & Yndiara Asp ~ Photo Tauana Sofia for VPS |
Lizzie Armanto is back on the contest circuit with a vengeance and her style and tricks are like no other - she is always a pleasure to watch but this year the fire has been fully ignited and it's great to see a veteran showing the younger ones how it's done.
Poppy Starr Olsen has added more tricks to her runs and is skating faster than we have ever seen, Yndiara Asp was stylish and had back to back tricks like usual.
But at this stop of the VPS tour we had a chance to see another newcomer on the pro women's tour - ten-year-old Daniela Terol Mendez from Spain - she seemingly came out of nowhere to make the finals. And it was well deserved. Daniela was throwing down trick after trick, including a frontside invert 540 and a 360 over the spine.
In the end, after a lot of back and forth scores on the leaderboard, it was another 10-year-old that took first place, Kokona Hiraki, who has been blazing a trail not only at VPS but at X-Games as well. Lizzie Armanto took second, and Mami Tezuka was third.
Now it's on to the World Championships in Salt Lake City on September 6-7 - the last VPS comp of the season and it is going to be a showdown!
If you didn't get up early enough to watch it go down live, you can watch the women's finals below.
WOMEN'S FINALS - RESULTS VPS PARIS/FRANCE
1st Kokona Hiraki
2nd Lizzie Armanto
3rd Mami Tezuka
Kihana Ogawa
YndiaraAsp
Poppy Starr Olsen
Kisa Nakamura
Daniela Terol Mendez
VPS REGINALS INFO & HIGHLIGHTS OF WOMEN'S PRELIMS & SEMI-FINALS
This week’s competition kicked off with the VPS Europa Regionals on Thursday, showcasing emerging talent from all over the region, and culminating with the crowning of a new regional VPS women's champion, Daniela Torel Mendez (ESP), who earned top seed into the World Championships field.
As the last Pro Tour Qualifier of the season, the VPS France event is pivotal for tour challengers to best their rankings on the season leaderboard in order to secure one of five spots in the VPS World Championships field. Japan’s Mami Tezuka is at the top of the challenger rankings, securing her ticket to Utah.
2019 Women’s Pro Tour, Paris/Chelles ~ Semi-Finals Results
1. Kokona Hiraki (JPN)
2. Mami Tezuka (JPN)
3. Poppy Starr Olsen (AUS)
4. Kihana Ogawa (JPN)
5. Yndiara Asp (BRA)
6. Lizzie Armanto (FIN)
7. Daniela Torel Mendez (ESP)
8. Kisa Nakamura (JPN)
As the last Pro Tour Qualifier of the season, the VPS France event is pivotal for tour challengers to best their rankings on the season leaderboard in order to secure one of five spots in the VPS World Championships field. Japan’s Mami Tezuka is at the top of the challenger rankings, securing her ticket to Utah.
2019 Women’s Pro Tour, Paris/Chelles ~ Semi-Finals Results
1. Kokona Hiraki (JPN)
2. Mami Tezuka (JPN)
3. Poppy Starr Olsen (AUS)
4. Kihana Ogawa (JPN)
5. Yndiara Asp (BRA)
6. Lizzie Armanto (FIN)
7. Daniela Torel Mendez (ESP)
8. Kisa Nakamura (JPN)
The Women's Prelims & semi-finals were not shown live, but you can watch them below