Liz Akama was a shy 13-year-old when she made her X Games debut two years ago, at X Games Chiba 2022. She finished 9th in the Elimination round, just missing the top-8 cut for the Final. She felt a little dejected but says the experience lit a fire that changed her.
Two years later, she’ll be a podium favorite and gold medal contender at this month’s X Games Chiba. And, she’s quick to point out, “I’m still shy!”
But everything else has changed. Akama says she was suffering from imposter’s syndrome in her rookie appearance, unsure she truly belonged at X Games. Instead of letting the disappointing result confirm her fears, she took the roar of the crowd when she landed Barley and hurricane grinds in her best run as signs she was on the right path.
She returned to her home skatepark in Sendai, Japan, and immediately got to work. “When I got 9th in Chiba, I wasn’t really happy about it,” Akama says, with interview translation assistance from Rie Asada, her agent at The Familie. “I made a lot of effort after that, practicing a lot, and went to many different contests to build confidence.”
Akama hasn’t missed the X Games podium since. In her five subsequent contest starts across three events, she’s taken: bronze at XG Chiba 2023; silver in both Street and Street Best Trick at XG California 2023; and silver in Street and bronze in Street Best Trick at XG Ventura 2024. She then followed her X Games Ventura performance with a silver medal at the Paris Olympics a month later.
It’s one of the most incredible glow-ups in skateboarding history, especially considering she’s still just 15 years old. She isn’t satisfied.
“It was a big jump to step up to earning X Games medals, but they were silver and bronze,” Akama says. “I need a gold medal! That will take even more effort, more practice. To do it I want to do it in my style, make the audience get excited, and do the most difficult tricks no one else is trying.”
Photo: Liz Akama during Women’s Skateboard Street Best Trick Final at 2024 X Games Ventura at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, CA. ©Trevor Brown, Jr./X Games
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Colin Bane 