12 hours ago
Skateboarder Covell rebounds after Paris disappointment
Tenacious teen Chloe Covell has finally cracked her first World Skateboarding Tour victory, with the young Australian victorious in Rome.
Competing internationally for the past three years, Covell's long-awaited win comes on the back of being included as a playable character in the latest remake of the Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game.
The daughter of former NRL player Luke Covell, she was hand-picked by the legendary Hawk for the iconic game.
Covell captured the Australian public's attention at the Paris Olympics last year when she was bidding to become the country's youngest ever gold medallist.
Competing in the final of the street discipline, the then 14-year-old was in tears midway through the medal round when she was unable to land any of her five tricks and finished last of the eight finalists.
But in Rome Covell, who is from Tweed Heads in northern NSW, was all smiles after laying down a flawless run in the final.
She entered the deciding run as the hot favourite after topping the quarters and semi-finals, with Brazil's Olympic champion Rayssa Leal missing out.
Covell produced her best score, 89.79, in her final run to hold a seven point lead going into the trick section.
Instead of playing it safe after two falls and requiring just a 71.22 for victory, Covell went large and nailed a superb frontside 50-50 kickflip to win by more than 20 points from Japan's Funa Nakayama and Ibuki Matsomoto.
Sora Shirai won the men's event.
Congratulations to team rider Chloe Covell for winning @worldskatesb in Rome! 🥇
— Bones Bearings (@Bonesbearings) June 16, 2025
A beaming Covell was almost speechless after the performance.
"I'm so excited like my words can't even come out of my mouth right now, I'm just super stoked," Covell said.
"I was the most nervous I've ever been because I know I can do this trick and I was just a little bit sketchy for the first two, so yeah, I just took some breaths and did what I had to do.
"Having like a first win at a competition, like a competition I haven't won before is just amazing."
