The 17-year-old skateboarding sensation Boipelo Awuah is currently in Italy to participate in the World Skateboarding Championship.
Boipelo is the only African female skater at this event in Rome,which commenced on Sunday (18/06), and is scheduled to conclude on 25 June.
She started skating at an early age and honed her skill in the Kimberley Diamond Cup through the Skateboarding for Hope programme. Boipelo, who is from Kimberley, competed at the Kimberley Diamond Cup National Grand slams, and has always dreamt of representing her country and skating at international events.
She departed for Rome on Thursday (15/06).
According to a press release of the Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism, she joined other skaters from South Africa and the rest of the world to battle it out for points toward qualifying for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
It is stated that Boipelo, who recently qualified at the national championships in Cape Town to participate at the World Skateboarding Championship, is highly ranked in the world and is super excited for the opportunity to compete for a spot in the Olympics.
World Skateboarding has announced several important qualifying events that skateboarders need to participate in to accumulate sufficient points for ranking and qualification toward the Olympics in Paris next year.
Boipelo has so far picked up points at the Aljada Skatepark Complex in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February. She is also set to compete in Switzerland in September, and Japan in December as part of her qualifying plan scheduled for the year.
Having made her debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Boipelo hopes the experience she gathered during this event will put her at a better footing in qualifying stages toward the 2024 Games.
