Japanese skaters Aoi Uemura and Miyu Ito took the top spots in The Rockstar Energy Open Women’s Street Final, sharing the podium with Brazil’s Pamela Rosa in a contest that saw banger runs and standout tricks from everyone in the lineup, fueled by extremely revved-up Portland skateboarding fans.
“The crowd and all the athletes cheering me on made it feel really awesome,” Uemura said after the podium presentation, thrilled to notch her first pro-level contest win on U.S. soil to follow up her Tokyo Uprising win in 2023. “In Japan, skate contests are a little more serious and everyone’s a little more focused on their own runs and being competitive, but here in Portland it’s much more friendly: Everyone gets together and cheers everyone else on! I really love that atmosphere.”
Uemura was egging the crowd on, raising her hands between tricks to channel energy from the fans, delivering the big tricks—like the frontside bluntslide in her best run and the front blunt shove-it upgrade in Run 3— such applause deserves. She thanked the crowd with polite eshaku bows after each run. Skate showmanship, Japanese style, at its finest. The judges were loving it, scoring her 6.25 points ahead of 2nd place skater Miyu Ito.
Ito, the top qualifier from Friday’s Semifinal, had some of the best tricks on the big double set handrail on course, including a frontside feeble grind and a backside lipslide.
“I’m so happy, and so happy for Aoi,” Ito said.
Pamela Rosa said that with the year she’s been having—including a recent ankle injury in the lead up to the Paris Olympics that kept her in 16th place there—she considers making the podium in Portland a win.
“This podium is so important for me, because it shows I’m back,” Rosa said. “My ankle is feeling better and I’m so happy to be here and be back in Portland and be skating well here. It’s one of the greatest cities in the world for skateboarding and I’m super drawn to these places that just live and breathe skateboarding in this way. This event has been so good for that.”
Rosa said she is honored to share the podium with two Japanese skaters, in an era of near-total contest takeovers.
“The Japanese skaters’ progress is so crazy and so good for skateboarding,” Rosa said. “Every contest, they’re bringing new girls, new tricks, raising it to a new level. Every time! It makes it an exciting time.”
>>Full story and photo gallery via theplatfrm.com
Categories: News & updates
Colin Bane 