PARIS, France — Fernandina Beach skateboarder Poe Pinson had a dramatic finish to the prelims to reach the medal round, but came in fifth in the finals after strong performances from two Japanese teenagers.
Family and friends gathered at Mocama Coffee in Nassau County as Pinson, 19, posted two high scores in her last two trick runs to clinch the last qualifying spot for the medal round with a 241.12 at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In the finals, Pinson posted a score of 222.34, with 50.18 as her best run and 88.43 and 84.73 as her highest trick scores.
A skateboarder's top-three scores are used to tally the final score. In the prelims, Pinson posted 39.30 and 71.25 in her first two runs. However, Pinson didn't score on her next three tries during the trick portion. But she came through with 81.8 and 88.07 scores in her final two tries, meaning she cleared China skateboarder Yuanling Zhu's 234.83 score.
Hundreds of people came out to a watch party in Fernandina Beach Sunday morning to cheer on Pinson.
The watch party, organized by Friends of Fernandina Skatepark, kicked off at 6 a.m. in Fernandina Beach but that didn't stop over 100 people from coming out to support one person.
“Poe is one of our good friends, all of us. And her progression, I mean she has just been skating since she was a little kid and it's just awesome to see what she’s done. We literally have an Olympian, top eight skateboarders in the world and it is awesome to see what she’s done," said Jude Rewa, a fellow skater.
Whenever Pinson was shown on the screen the crowd in Fernandina Beach applauded. Despite a wipeout during the trick portion, the crowd, holding signs and waving on their local Olympian, never wavered.
“It can bring some tears for a lot of people, even a grown man like me, to see a young lady who has worked hard, the dedication. And to see her father, a single father who has taken care of her, he brought her to this level through her hard work and dedication," said Waldemar Borrero, the founder of Friends of Fernandina Skatepark.
In the finals, Pinson competed against Coco Yoshizawa (Japan), Liz Akama (Japan), Chenxi Cui (China), Chloe Covell (Australia), Funa Nakayama (Japan), Paige Heyn (USA) and Rayssa Leal (Brazil).
Yoshizawa, Akama and Leal took home gold, silver and bronze respectively.
As Pinson finishes in Paris, Friends of Fernandina Skatepark plans to celebrate her homecoming.
"She’s already a champion and we’re proud about that, and she’s from our town of Fernandina Beach," Borrero said.
A parade is currently scheduled for August 16.
