Fourteen-year-old Pan Am champion De Fazio Ebert named to Olympic skateboard team
Fourteen-year-old Fay De Fazio Ebert has been named to Canada’s skateboard team for the Paris Olympics. De Fazio Ebert poses during media day organized by the Canadian Olympic Committee in Montreal, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
TORONTO — Months after becoming the first-ever Pan Am Games gold medallist in women's park, 14-year-old Fay De Fazio Ebert has been named to Canada’s skateboard team for the Paris Olympics.
The roster, announced Wednesday by Canada Skateboard and the Canadian Olympic Committee, also includes Miles Berger of Kamloops, B.C., Ryan Decenzo of Delta, B.C., and Cordano Russell of London, Ont.
De Fazio Ebert, from Toronto, is likely to be the youngest competitor on Canada's Olympic delegation.
She was 13 when she won a gold medal in women's park as skateboarding made its Pan Am debut at the 2023 Santiago Games.
“It makes a big impact having so many outstanding Canadian skateboarders headed to Paris 2024," De Fazio Ebert said in a release. "We lack high-level skateboarding training facilities in the country. Yet, to see us as a team, as individuals, push through and skateboard our best on this international scene is amazing.”
Berger, the only member with previous Olympic experience, will compete in the men's street event for the second straight Games. His best performance in the event came in 2021, when he finished sixth at the World Skateboard Championships.
Decenzo, who will celebrate his 38th birthday just before the opening ceremony in Paris, made his major Games debut at the 2023 Pan Am Games. He won a gold medal in street at the 2016 X Games and took bronze at last year's event.
"To represent Canada for skateboarding in Paris is an honour. It’s something we have all been working hard toward. It was not an easy process, but we are happy to be here today," Decenzo said.
"We will give it our all and hopefully, make Canada proud."
Russell, 19, finished fourth at the 2023 World Skate Street World Championships. He chose to defer his scholarship to the University of San Diego to focus on qualifying for Paris.
The four athletes qualified based on their performances across World Skate events over the past two years, as well as the Olympic Qualifier Series which ended last weekend in Budapest, Hungary.
The men’s street skateboarding event will take place July 27, while the women’s park event goes Aug. 6.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2024.
The Canadian Press