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Italian Surfer Giulia Manfrini Dies at Age 36 After Being Impaled by Swordfish

Oct 22, 2024
This picture taken on October 16, 2024, shows surfers riding the waves on Maroubra Beach after authorities closed down two adjacent beaches in Sydney. Authorities were baffled earlier this week when thousands of black spheres -- sized between a golf ball and a tennis ball -- were found littering the shores of tourist haven Coogee Beach, that later identified as petroleum-based "tar balls", after chemical testing. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP) (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
This picture taken on October 16, 2024, shows surfers riding the waves on Maroubra Beach after authorities closed down two adjacent beaches in Sydney. Authorities were baffled earlier this week when thousands of black spheres -- sized between a golf ball and a tennis ball -- were found littering the shores of tourist haven Coogee Beach, that later identified as petroleum-based "tar balls", after chemical testing. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP) (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Former professional snowboarder Giulia Manfrini died last week in a surfing accident near the Mentawai Islands off the West Sumatra coast in Indonesia.

According to state-news agency Antara, via CNN's Alex Stambaugh, Mentawai Islands disaster management agency head Lahmudin Siregar said the 36-year-old from Italy was struck in the chest by a swordfish while surfing.

Per AFP, Siregar added that the swordfish caused a wound that was two inches deep, and Hidden Bay Resort Mentawais wrote on Instagram that Manfrini "died almost immediately."

James Colston, who was Manfrini's business partner, released a statement Sunday on her death, saying: "Unfortunately, even with the brave efforts of her partner, local resort staff and doctors, Giulia couldn't be saved. We believe she died doing what she loved, in a place that she loved."

Manfrini was the co-founder of the AWAVE Travel agency along with Colston, and she served as head of surf resorts sales.

According to CBS News, Manfrini's death came just over a year after professional surfer Mikala Jones died in a surfing accident in the same region.

Jones, who was 44, had his femoral artery cut by his surfboard fin while he was surfing near the Mentawai Islands.

Video: Gui Khury Lands 1st 'Kickflip Body Varial 900' 25 Years After Tony Hawk's 900

Aug 23, 2024
VENTURA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 29:  Gui Khury holds his gold  medal after competing in the Men's Skateboard Vert Best Trick during the X Games California 2024 at Ventura County Fairgrounds and Event Center on June 29, 2024 in Ventura, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
VENTURA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 29: Gui Khury holds his gold medal after competing in the Men's Skateboard Vert Best Trick during the X Games California 2024 at Ventura County Fairgrounds and Event Center on June 29, 2024 in Ventura, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Gui Khury continues to break new ground.

The 15-year-old landed a kickflip body varial 900 during a recent session, becoming the first person ever to successfully perform the trick.

Tony Hawk famously had the first-ever in-competition 900 in 1999 at the X Games. The legendary skater was 31 at the time.

Khury was only eight years old when he nailed his first 900 on a vert ramp, making him the youngest ever at the time. He has since gone a step further by hitting a 1080 on a vert ramp in front of Hawk himself.

The Brazilian is already a three-time gold medalist in the X Games, the first of which came when he was 12 in 2021. He has another four silvers and two bronzes.

By the time you're finished reading this, Khury may have done something else to raise the bar even higher.

Nyjah Huston Rips Olympic Medals as Not 'High Quality' After Skateboarding Bronze

Aug 9, 2024
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 30 U.S. Olympian Nyjah Huston and Jagger Eaton pose for a photo at the USA House at Paris 2024 on July 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for USOPC)
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 30 U.S. Olympian Nyjah Huston and Jagger Eaton pose for a photo at the USA House at Paris 2024 on July 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for USOPC)

Team USA skateboarder Nyjah Huston took home his first Olympic medal by earning bronze in the men's street competition at the Paris Games, but he's not entirely happy with his new hardware.

Per TMZ, Huston took to Instagram to show how it hasn't taken very long for the medal to look worn out.

"They look great when they're brand new, but after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for lil' bit and letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they're apparently not as high quality as you would think," he said.

The medals at the Paris Olympics have a piece of the Eiffel Tower embedded in them to honor the host city, and that appears to be the only part of Huston's medal that hasn't deteriorated.

"I mean look at that thing," Huston said. "It's looking rough! Even the front is starting to chip off a little. I don't know. Olympic medals, maybe step up the quality a little bit."

Huston, a street skateboarding legend, placed seventh in his first Olympics at the Tokyo Games in 2021. The 15-time X Games gold medalist added to his legacy this summer, but it looks like his Olympic medal won't have a standout spot on his mantle when he returns home from Paris.

USA's Tom Schaar Wins Silver Medal; Full Scores for Olympic Men's Skateboarding Park

Aug 7, 2024
US' Tom Schaar competes in the men's park skateboarding prelims during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Concorde in Paris on August 7, 2024. (Photo by Franck FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
US' Tom Schaar competes in the men's park skateboarding prelims during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Concorde in Paris on August 7, 2024. (Photo by Franck FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Tom Schaar's attempt to bring home the gold for the United States came down to his last trick.

Unfortunately, he was unable to pull off his run-defining 720, crashing to the ground and handing the gold to Australian Keegan Palmer. The Aussie captured his second straight Olympic gold in the skateboarding park event with a score of 93.11 at the 2024 Paris Games.

Schaar managed to capture silver for the U.S., while Augusto Akio of Brazil took home bronze.


Park Skateboarding Final Results

Gold: Keegan Palmer (Australia): 93.11

Silver: Tom Schaar (United States): 92.23

Bronze: Augusto Akio (Brazil): 91.85


The silver is the first Olympic medal for Schaar, the 24-year-old who burst onto the scene at age 12 when he became the first skateboarder to ever land a 1080.

Schaar was the most complete skateboarder in Wednesday's final, with all three of his runs scoring over 80. However, his jaw-dropping third run came to an unfortunate end when he failed to stick the landing on a 720 that would have almost certainly put him ahead of Palmer for gold.

When Schaar crashed to the ground, all Palmer had to do in his final run was skate to the adoring cheers of the Paris crowd.

Palmer is a two-time gold medalist at age 21. He and Arisa Trew swept the park competition for Australia, giving the country 15 golds overall. Australia is third behind the United States (24) and China (23) in the overall gold tally and fifth among all countries in total medals.

The U.S. leads the total medal count with 87. Akio's bronze was the 13th medal for Brazil in the Summer Games.

Olympic Skateboarding 2024: Women's Park Medal Winners and Results

Aug 6, 2024
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 06: Arisa Trew of Team Australia warms up prior to the Women's Park Prelims on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Place de la Concorde on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 06: Arisa Trew of Team Australia warms up prior to the Women's Park Prelims on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Place de la Concorde on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Arisa Trew won Tuesday's park skateboarding final at the 2024 Paris Games to become the youngest Olympic gold medalist in Australian history.

The 14-year-old finished with a top score of 93.18 in her final run to become the first Australian woman to claim skateboarding gold.

Japan's Cocona Hiraki claimed her second silver medal in the event, while Great Britain's Sky Brown earned her second bronze.

The full order of finish is below.


Women's park final results

  1. Arisa Trew, Australia: 93.18
  2. Cocona Hiraki, Japan: 92.63
  3. Sky Brown, Great Britain: 92.31
  4. Dora Varella, Brazil: 89.14
  5. Heili Sirvio, Finland: 88.89
  6. Bryce Wettstein, United States: 88.12
  7. Naia Laso, Spain: 86.28
  8. Hinano Kusaki, Japan: 69.76

Defending Olympic champion Sakura Yosozumi of Japan was eliminated in the preliminary round.

This is not the first time this year Trew has made skateboarding history. In May she posted a clip of her becoming the the first woman to land a 900, a two-and-a-half rotation spin.

The accomplishment came less than a year after Trew became the first female skateboarder to land a 720, necessitating two full spins, in competition.

Her gold medal-winning run included a 360 as well as the front flip and 540 known as the McTwist, per Samantha Wong of NBCOlympics.com.

Hiraki, who led qualifiers, topped the standings after the first run with 91.98 points before she was unseated by Trew and Brown.

She put up an even stronger run on her third attempt to climb back into position for the silver medal.

Brown earned bronze despite dislocating her shoulder days before competition, and suffering an apparently painful fall on the shoulder during her second run of the preliminary run.

Brown said on Instagram ahead of the competition that she was "not 100%" and would need to undergo surgery on her shoulder following the final.

Despite those limitations, Brown completed the comeback with a strong third run that clinched her a place on the podium. The 16-year-old will now add a second bronze to her collection after becoming the youngest Olympic medalist in Team Great Britain's history during her debut at the Games in 2021.

Olympic Surfing 2024: Gabriel Medina Gets Bronze; Medal Winners, Scores and Results

Aug 6, 2024
TEAHUPO'O, FRENCH POLYNESIA - AUGUST 05: Gabriel Medina of Team Brazil rides a wave during the men's bronze medal match of surfing on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on August 05, 2024 in Teahupo'o, French Polynesia. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
TEAHUPO'O, FRENCH POLYNESIA - AUGUST 05: Gabriel Medina of Team Brazil rides a wave during the men's bronze medal match of surfing on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on August 05, 2024 in Teahupo'o, French Polynesia. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Kauli Vaast of France and Caroline Marks of the United States are the second-ever surfing gold medalists after winning in Tahiti on Monday.

Marks defeated Tatiana Weston-Webb of Brazil 10.50 to 10.33 in the women's gold-medal match while Vaast beat Australia's Jack Robinson 17.67 to 7.83 in their gold-medal meeting.

Gabriel Medina of Brazil came into the event as a favorite, but the waves didn't go his way and he was only able to put up one best wave score. Still, he found his way to the bronze-medal matchup, where he beat Peru's Alonso Correa.


Women's Surfing Results

Gold: Caroline Marks (United States) def. Tatiana Weston-Webb (Brazil) 10.50 to 10.33

Bronze: Johanne Defay (France) def. Brisa Hennessy (Costa Rica), 12.66 to 4.93


Men's Surfing Results

Gold: Kauli Vast (France) def. Jack Robinson (Australia), 17.67 to 7.83

Bronze: Gabriel Medina (Brazil) def. Alonso Correa (Peru), 15.54 to 12.43


Though conditions were subpar through the semifinals and bronze-medal matches, the surf turned out to be somewhat favorable for the gold-medal matches.

That led to a big start for Vaast.

The Frenchman came out with a bang, scoring an 8.17 for his first wave before driving through a barrel to score a 9.50 to give him a score of 17.67 after just two waves. Needless to say, that made things comfortable for Vaast and put pressure on Robinson.

Robinson recorded a 7.83 with his first wave, which is a commendable score, but not quite what he needed to be on par with Vaast.

But the surf didn't cooperate with Robinson, and his first wave ended up being his only as time ticked away. Even if he had the chance to surf a few more waves, it's hard to imagine he could have matched or bested Vaast's score.

Vaast, 22, won his first Olympic medal with his performance on Monday, and it only makes it more special that he was able to do it in his native Tahiti.

In the women's gold-medal match, things began very slow with neither surfer being able to find a wave they liked through the first 15 minutes or so.

A slow start quickly picked up in the final minutes of the match as favorable waves started coming for both Marks and Weston-Webb. The slew of waves led to the contest coming down to the final minutes.

Weston-Webb had an impressive run with around two minutes remaining and the judges had to make their scoring decisions as time ran out. With no time remaining, Marks could only wait to see if her score was enough, and it was as Weston-Webb scored a 4.50, leaving her just shy of the win.

Marks' best wave was a 7.50 and her second-best was a 3.00, while Weston-Webb's best was 5.83 with her second-best being a 4.50.

Marks fell just short of medaling in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, placing fourth overall. Now, three years, later she has her first medal, and it's gold.

USA Olympic Legend Shaun White to Launch Professional Snowboarding League

Jun 17, 2024
ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA - FEBRUARY 11: Shaun White of Team United States shows emotion speaking with the press after finishing fourth during the Men's Snowboard Halfpipe Final on day 7 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 11, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. White competed in five Winter Olympic Games and had announced Beijing 2022 will be the last one of his career. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA - FEBRUARY 11: Shaun White of Team United States shows emotion speaking with the press after finishing fourth during the Men's Snowboard Halfpipe Final on day 7 of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Genting Snow Park on February 11, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China. White competed in five Winter Olympic Games and had announced Beijing 2022 will be the last one of his career. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Legendary snowboarder and skateboarder Shaun White is starting a professional snowboarding circuit, The Snow League, in March 2025.

"We are building this league with the athletes in mind first," he told Sportico's Eric Jackson. "That means top quality venues with the best pipes and courses, telling their stories to a wider audience on bigger platforms, drastically increasing the prize purses that they're competing for, and generally bringing them into the process to guide the sport forward for future generations."

The Snow League will launch with an inaugural event in the United States, with four overseas events to follow.

It's an exciting time for snowboard enthusiasts, with the X Games launching a team-format snowboarding league in 2026, the X Games League,

"I sensed that our sport was at a crossroads and really needed to be re-framed and presented in a way where we could stand shoulder to shoulder with other globally celebrated sports," White said. "So, it was the perfect time to realize a vision I've had for a long time, to provide a much-deserved platform for the next generation of superstars to rise and give fans new ways to immerse themselves in our sport."

Video: 14-Year-Old Arisa Trew Becomes 1st Female Skateboarder to Land 900

May 30, 2024
Australia's Arisa Trew competes in the women's skateboarding park final during the Olympic Qualifier Series for breaking, BMX freestyle, skateboarding, and sport climbing events ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Shanghai on May 19, 2024. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP) (Photo by WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)
Australia's Arisa Trew competes in the women's skateboarding park final during the Olympic Qualifier Series for breaking, BMX freestyle, skateboarding, and sport climbing events ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Shanghai on May 19, 2024. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP) (Photo by WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)

Arisa Trew became the first-ever female skateboarder to complete a 900 on Thursday, accomplishing the feat during training on the halfpipe.

The 14-year-old is also the first female skateboarder to land a 720 in competition, having done so at the Tony Hawk Vert Alert last June.

Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk praised Trew on Instagram after the 900, writing in part: "Arisa Trew just became the first female to land a 900. Glass ceilings are so 2023. Congrats @arisa_trew! 🛹🌀🏆"

Hawk, of course, landed the first-ever 900 in competition back in 1999 at X Games 5 in San Francisco during the Skateboard Vert Best Trick competition.

Trew is currently ranked as the No. 2 female skateboarder in the world, per World Skate. She is looking to qualify for the Paris Summer Olympics in park skating (vert skating is not an Olympic sport).

Trew appears well on her way toward accomplishing that goal after finishing first in the Olympic Qualifier Series in May in Shanghai. She now moves on to the second and final part of the series, which begins June 20 in Budapest, Hungary.