Monster Energy congratulates team rider Rayssa Leal on claiming first place in the Women’s Skateboard Street competition at STU Open 2022 in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Rayssa does it again! Monster Energy congratulates team rider Rayssa Leal on claiming first place in the Women’s Skateboard Street competition at STU Open 2022 in Rio de Janeiro this weekend. In a high-stakes final on Sunday, the 14-year-old from Imperatriz, Brazil, took the win and $50,000 cash prize with her signature blend of finesse and technical street skating.
In Sunday’s Men’s Skateboard Street final, 29-year-old Kelvin Hoefler from São Paulo, Brazil, put on a strong performance to claim third place in an elite field. In the Men’s Skateboard Park contest one week earlier, 22-year-old Monster Energy rider Luiz Francisco from São Paulo, Brazil, rose all the way to the podium to claim third place.
Now in its fifth edition, STU Open Rio celebrates innovative skateboarding and urban culture amidst a festival atmosphere in Rio de Janeiro. Presented in partnership with Monster Energy, this year’s Skate Total Urbe (STU) event showcased some of the biggest names in global skateboarding over the course of two weeks.
The Skateboard Park event was contested from October 3-9, while Skateboard Street happened from October 10-17, 2022. The contest also included a Best Trick event on the branded ‘Monster Vision’ obstacle. All competitions were streamed live on TikTok.
The Women’s Street Skateboarding contest at Duó Square skatepark featured riders from across the world, including Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Spain, South Africa, and Venezuela. Monster Energy’s Rayssa Leal came to Rio de Janeiro as the rider to beat, fresh off a recent victory at SLS Las Vegas in the United States.
In her runs during Sunday’s final, Leal covered the entire concrete street course with high-tech tricks. The Olympic silver medalist also put down best tricks such as kickflip frontside boardslide, kickflip backside lipslide, and technical sugarcane grind down the nine-stair rail. Awarded a score of 20.54 points, Leal took first place and the $50,000 cash prize ahead of fellow Brazilian Pamela Rosa in second place.
Born and raised in Brazil, Leal first caught international attention in 2015 at the age of 6 via a viral video. Today, she ranges among the sport’s top competitors: In 2019, Leal made history at age 11 as the youngest rider to ever win an SLS tour stop and took second place at the SLS World Championship in Brazil that year. In 2021, she represented Brazil in the Tokyo Olympics and claimed the silver medal in the Women’s Skateboard Street event. During the 2022 season, she has so far won every stop on the 2022 SLS World Tour and leads the overall rankings heading into the 2022 SLS Super Crown World Championships.
The Men’s Skateboard Street line-up was stacked with riders hailing from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, and the United States, among others. Monster Energy hit the contest with a heavy squad including Kelvin Hoefler, Giovanni Vianna, Matt Berger, Filipe Mota, Justin Sommer, Jhancarlos Gonzalez, and Riso Tury.
In Sunday’s high-energy finals, 29-year-old Kelvin Hoefler from São Paulo, Brazil, put his creative trick selection and consistency on full display. Hoefler’s trick highlights included Half Cab overcrook revert, as well as an ultra-technical kickflip backside tailslide bigspin out down the big rail for a total score of 26.16 points and third place.
Finishing closely off the podium, Monster Energy’s Giovanni Vianna took fourth place by finessing tricks such as Caballerial frontside noseslide fakie and frontside Half Cab backside Smith grind down the big rail. Also making a strong impression this weekend, Filipe Mota emerged from the grueling semifinal as the top qualifier. The Brazilian upstart ended up in fifth place after landing technical bangers such as kickflip frontside bluntslide and backside bigspin hurricane grind down the big handrail.
During the previous weekend, the Men’s Skateboard Park Event featured elite riders, including Monster Energy’s Kieran Woolley, Vi Kakinho, Rune Glifberg, Raphae Ueda, Yam Behar, Liam Pace, and newly minted Brazilian team rider Isadora Pacecho.
In the final session featuring eight riders, Monster Energy’s Luiz Francisco used all angles of the massive concrete bowl. The 22-year-old Brazilian landed high-speed frontside feeble grind transfers off the extension, frontside tailslide over the hip, kickflip Indy the deep end, frontside nosegrind tailgrab the vert wall, frontside blunt the extension, frontside lipslide the deep end, and a huge double flip melon grab over the hip for a strong third-place finish with a score of 79.07 points.
For more on Rayssa Leal, Kelvin Hoefler, Luiz Francisco, and the Monster Energy skateboarding team visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for exclusive updates as the action sports season continues.
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About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes, and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers, and fans. See more about Monster Energy, including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.
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