Covell makes Olympic skate final after early struggles
Roger Vaughan |
Chloe Covell’s bid to create Australian Olympic history remains on track, despite the teenager suffering several crashes in street skateboard qualifying.
The 14-year-old star posted 246.73 from her five runs to be placed third in the opening heat on Sunday.
With one heat of five skaters left, Covell was already guaranteed a spot in the eight-skater final to take place later on Sunday at the Concorde skate park in central Paris.
Early concerns that Covell might not have done enough to reach the medal round were allayed, with scores generally lower than normal at big international skateboarding events.
Brazilian star Rayssa Leal posted the highest individual score so far, a 92.68, but her overall total of 241.43 was still lower than Covell’s.
Japan’s Coco Yoshizawa had posted the best score after three of the four heats, with 258.92.
China’s Cui Chenxi topped the standings in heat one with a 254.34.
Australians Liv Lovelace and Haylie Powell both missed out on spots in the final.
There is plenty of focus on Covell, as she would become Australia’s youngest Olympic champion if she wins the gold medal.
However, there appeared to be nerves at play as Covell crashed attempting her second and third tricks.
But she finally nailed the same trick on her next try and that gave the Australian teenager the second-highest score of any skater in the heat.
“I knew I could do it, so I tried to keep trying to do it, and just focus on it,” Covell said of her high-scoring trick.
“It was very nerve-wracking, but I did my best.”
AAP
