In September, Red Bull Bowl Rippers brought pro skateboarding action back to Marseille’s famous beachside Bowl Du Prado after a two-year hiatus.

As thousands of enthusiastic French spectators witnessed the action-packed event, Marc Churchill and Corbin Harris interviewed the participating skaters, as well as industry veterans such as Greg Poissonnier, Chris Gregson, and Bryce Kanights. They also spoke with the event organizer, Jeremie Grynblat, and local hero Vincent Matheron to understand what makes this unique proving ground so special and why people keep coming back to it for decades.

The first Bowl Rippers was held in 2016 at the iconic park to celebrate its 25th year. Now on its sixth edition, The Red Bull Bowl Rippers continued the Bowl Du Prado’s legacy of enshrining legends into a new era.

The Bowl Du Prado, designed by Jean-Pierre Collinet, has been visited by every great skateboarder to leave their mark on the sport. Along with famous names like Cardiel, Speyer, Trujillo, and Petersen, there are also local legends like Molinier, Benoliel, Salah, and the Matheron clan who have all contributed to the skatepark’s worldwide notoriety.

The Transworld Skateboarding crew catches up with Andrew Arthur in this episode of “Brain Floss.”

Andrew Arthur was raised in Oceanside, California, surrounded by some of the best skaters who eventually became pros. Although he once pursued skateboarding and even reached the amateur level, his career took a different path when he found his niche in fashion photography.

Fast forward ten years and Andrew now resides in New York City, where he continues to skate and stay connected with the local scene. His latest photo project, which will be compiled into a book, is a unique take on the sun bounce setup popularized by Peter Lindbergh.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has revealed the first-ever winners of the Let’s Move Street Challenge – the unique online competition supported by Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung, inviting BMX, Breaking and Skateboarding enthusiasts to showcase their best moves and creative skills.

Twenty-one winners from 13 countries have been selected by the judges from thousands of entries, unlocking an all-access trip to watch some of the best athletes competing for their ticket to Paris 2024 at the first Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai.
 

LET’S MOVE STREET CHALLENGE WINNERS

BMX Freestyle Park
Melville Smith (United States of America)
Ozawa “Miharu” Miharu (Japan)

BMX Real Street
Andres “Mickey” Michael (New Zealand)
Eleonora (Greece)

BMX Dirt
Tommy Crail (United States of America)
Michelle Neuner (Switzerland)

Skateboarding Park
Eddie Acres (Australia)
Malgorzata Burkacka (Poland)

Skateboarding Real Street
Carlos Burgos (Cuba)
Guadalupe Aime (Argentina)

Skateboarding Street Park
James Huntley (New Zealand)
Keily Frank

Breaking Best Round
Penny “Penny” Deng (People’s Republic of China)
“Vinilla” Yelyzaveta Ovcharova (Ukraine)

Breaking Power Move
Pisani “Arthur” Alves de Silva Arthur (Brazil)
Bgirl Small (People’s Republic of China)

Breaking Footwork
Keith Jennings “Ghost”
Adejoke “Cruxy” Victoria Akinbogym (Nigeria)

Street culture
Jonatan Mineiro “Ze pequeno BMX” (Brazil)

Best produced
Maxime Castillon (France)

Most surprising video
Higor Cruz “Higorcruzb” Balthazar (Brazil)

These 21 award winners selected by the judges will now have the opportunity to experience first-hand the athletes’ Road to Paris 2024, with an-all access trip to an Olympic qualifying event in Shanghai in May 2024.

The new Olympic Qualifier Series is a four-part event series that will bring together the best athletes in one urban park for a festival-style event and will serve as the ultimate qualification stage for BMX Freestyle, Breaking, Skateboarding and Sport Climbing.

At least half of the qualification spots for Paris 2024 will be allocated through the Olympic Qualifier Series, with 464 athletes set to compete.

The winners were revealed during a one-off, 60-minute show streamed on Olympics.com, bringing together participants, fans and athletes from across the three sports to celebrate the competition and the sports and communities surrounding them.

It was hosted by BMX rider Darryl Nau, and featured judges Christie Hughes (BMX), Suzanne Reekers (Skateboard), BBOY Spin (Breaking) and Little Shao (Creative).

Fans were also able to join a live chat to share their reactions to the winners and interact with each other and had the chance to win exclusive Let’s Move Street Challenge merchandise.

The Let’s Move Street Challenge, supported by Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung, is a new Olympic initiative from the IOC. It is a unique digital competition that invited people from around the world to showcase their sporting and creative talent in BMX, Breaking and Skateboarding.

With the vision of being open, accessible and inclusive and providing inspiration to practise sport, competitors were invited to enter the challenge by submitting a 30-second video of themselves performing their best move.

All the Olympic Street Challenge entries are available to watch now on Olympics.com.