Sakura Yosozumi

Sakura Yosozumi (四十住 さくら^[4], Yosozumi Sakura, born 15 March 2002)^[2] is a Japanese professional skateboarder. She won gold medals in the inaugural women's park events at the Asian Games, in 2018, and at the Olympic Games, in 2021.^[5]

Sakura Yosozumi
四十住 さくら

Yosozumi at X Games Chiba 2022
Personal information
Native name	四十住 さくら
Nationality	Japanese
Born	(2002-03-15) 15 March 2002 (age 22) Iwade,^[1] Wakayama, Japan
Height	159 cm (5 ft 3 in) (2018)^[2]
Weight	52 kg (115 lb) (2018)^[2]
Sport
Country	Japan
Sport	Skateboarding
Position	Regular footed
Rank	2nd (June 2021)^[3]
Event(s)	Park, bowl
Pro tour(s)	Dew Tour Vans Park Series
Medal record Women's park skateboarding Representing  Japan Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo Park World Championships 2018 Nanjing Park 2019 São Paulo Park 2023 Sharjah Park Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Park X Games 2022 Chiba Park 2022 California Park 2018 Minneapolis Park Dew Tour 2022 Des Moines Park

Career

Yosozumi started skateboarding in 2013 and was influenced by her older brother to take up the sport. In September 2017, it was reported that on weekdays she trained for five hours after attending school.^{[citation needed]}

World Cup

At the 2016 World Cup Skateboarding which was hosted in Tokyo, she competed in the women's park event where she finished 29th among competitors. She returned in the 2018 edition hosted in Orange, California and competed in the bowl event instead where she placed sixth.^[2]

Vans Park Series

Yosozumi skated at the 2017 Vans Park Series (VPS) Asian Championships in Singapore where she finished third.^[2] At the women's division of the VPS Pro Tour in Brazil in June 2018, Yosozumi claimed the top spot by outbesting Yndiara Asp of Brazil and Brighton Zeuner of the United States.^[6] At the Huntington Beach, California leg, she finished second in the qualifying round,^[7] though she failed to reach the podium in the final and finished fifth overall.^[8]

X Games

Yosuzumi competed at X Games Minneapolis 2018 in the women's park event. She finished second in the qualifying round while she obtain a bronze medal in the final behind gold medalist Brighton Zeuner and Sabre Norris of Australia.^[9]

Asian Games

She represented Japan at the 2018 Asian Games, hosted in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. Yosozumi claimed one of Japan's three gold medals in the skateboard discipline after topping the rankings of the women's park event. She performed ahead of silver medalist and compatriot Kaya Isa and bronze medalist Zhang Xin of China.^[10]

Olympics

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Yosozumi competed in the first-ever Olympic women's park skateboarding event, in which she claimed the gold medal with a best score of 60.09.^[11] She narrowly bested compatriot Kokona Hiraki, who took silver with a 59.04 score, and Team GB competitor Sky Brown, who took bronze with a 56.47 score.^[12][13]

References

1. "スケボー金メダルの四十住さくらはこんな１９歳…子供の頃の夢は「保育園の先生」" (in Japanese). Hochi Shimbun. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
2. . Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
3. "Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings – Park, Female". World Skate. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
4. "【海外・INFO】TWS PARK : SAKURA YOSOZUMI – 四十住さくらが、トランスワールド パークを攻略。" [(Foreign Competitor Info) TWS Park: Sakura Yosozumi, Trans World Park Profile]. California Street (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 September 2018.
5. Branch, John (3 August 2021). "Japan wins its third skateboarding gold medal of the Games, in women's park". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
6. "Tom Schaar & Sakura Yosozumi Champions Of Vans Park Series Brazil". Board Sport Source. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
7. "Vans Park Series Pro Tour Heats Up in Huntington Beach California". Juice Magazine. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
8. "Contest Results: Vans Park Series Global Qualifiers at Huntington Beach Womens Finals". The Boardr. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
9. "Japan's action sports stars claim podium finishes at X Games Minneapolis". Kyodo News. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
10. "Ramping up Olympic preps: Japan wins 3 skateboarding golds". Herald Wing. The Associated Press. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
11. Coleman, Madeline. "Japan Goes 1-2 in First-Ever Women's Park Skateboarding". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
12. "Skateboarding, Women's Park – Results Summary" (PDF). Tokyo 2020 Olympics at Olympics.com. 4 August 2021. (PDF) from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
13. "Japan's Yosozumi wins battle of teens for Olympic skateboarding". Al Jazeera English. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.

External links

• Sakura Yosozumi at Olympedia  
• Sakura Yosozumi at The Boardr