Letícia Bufoni

Letícia Bufoni e Silva (born April 13, 1993)[1] is a Brazilian-American[2] professional street skateboarder. She is a six-time X Games gold medalist.[3]

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Bufoni and the second or paternal family name is Silva.
Letícia Bufoni e Silva
Personal information
Birth nameLetícia Bufoni e Silva
Born (1993-04-13) April 13, 1993[1]
São Paulo, Brazil
OccupationSkateboarder
Years active2002–present
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Weight97 lb (44 kg)
Sport
Country Brazil
SportSkateboarding
Turned pro2017
Medal record
Women's street skateboarding
Representing  Brazil
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2015 Chicago Street
Silver medal – second place2016 Los Angeles Street
Silver medal – second place2017 Los Angeles Street
Silver medal – second place2018 Rio de Janeiro Street
Summer X Games
Silver medal – second place2010 Los Angeles Street
Bronze medal – third place2011 Los Angeles Street
Silver medal – second place2012 Los Angeles Street
Gold medal – first place2013 Foz do Iguaçu Street
Gold medal – first place2013 Barcelona Real Women
Gold medal – first place2013 Los Angeles Street
Bronze medal – third place2014 Austin Street
Bronze medal – third place2017 Minneapolis Street
Gold medal – first place2018 Norway Street
Silver medal – second place2018 Sydney Street
Gold medal – first place2019 Shanghai Street
Gold medal – first place2021 California Street

Early life

Bufoni was born in São Paulo.[1] She began skating at age nine,[4] and her grandmother bought her first skateboard when she was 11.[5]

"I grew up in the street playing sports all the time. We didn't have computers, no smartphones. All of the kids started skating, so I did too."[6]

"My dad broke my board so I wouldn't skate anymore. I started to skateboard when I was nine years old; I was skating with all the guys in my neighborhood, and he was mad at me because I was the only girl in the middle of 10 guys. He smashed my board in front of me and said; You're not skating anymore, ever again."[7] Her father eventually relented.[6]

At the age of 14, Bufoni moved to the United States with older friends.[8] She attended Hollywood High School, but left after missing so much school that she was in danger of being expelled.[9]

Career

In 2007, Bufoni competed in her first X Games at the age of 14 in Los Angeles.[9]

She is a five-time X Games gold medalist. She tied Elissa Steamer's decade-old record for most gold in Women's SKB Street with her win at XG Shanghai 2019. Overall she earned six straight medals in X Games Women's SKB Street (2010–2014) and the title at Shanghai 2019.[10]

She has become one of the world's best-known and most influential action sports athletes.[10] Bufoni was ranked the #1 women's street skateboarder by World Cup of Skateboarding four years in a row 2010–2013 and appeared in [11] The Guinness Book of World Records (2017) for the "Most Wins Of The World Cup of Skateboarding. In 2013, she was nominated for an ESPY Award – Best Female Action Sports Athlete.

In 2015, she won the first Street League Skateboarding Women's SLS Super Crown World Championship in Chicago, IL.[12] She also appeared in the ESPN Magazine – The Body Issue.[13] She was also the first female skater to sign for Nike SB in 2015.[14]

In 2018, Forbes named Bufoni one of The Most Powerful Women In International Sports for 2018 (#25)[15] and made Sports Pro Media's list for The World's Most Marketable Athletes for 2018 (#41).[16] Further in 2018, she was named to the Forbes Brazil "Under 30" list.[17]

In 2022, Bufoni set a world record (verified by Guinness World Records) for highest skateboard grind outside the back of a flying aircraft. This happened when the aircraft was flying over Merced, California. A video of this went viral in 2023. The aircraft was a C-130 transport plane, and was flying at an altitude of 9,022 feet when Bufoni did the skateboard grind.[18]

Bufoni is the official athlete representative for World Skate, the International Olympic Committee-recognized governing body for Skateboarding.[10]

Personal life

On April 7, 2021, Bufoni became a citizen of the United States.[19]

Competitions

Awards

Nickelodeon 2016 Kids' Choice Sports – Queen Of Swag

Cartoon Network 2014 Hall of Game Awards – She Got Game

Video game appearances

Bufoni is a playable character in the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5.

She is also in the new game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, a remastered and updated version of the original Pro Skater games with an updated roster of playable skaters.

Music video appearances

Bufoni plays a featured role in the music video for "Snapback" by Old Dominion.

References
  1. "International Skateboarding Federation - Leticia Bufoni". Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  2. "USCIS on LinkedIn: #NewUSCitizen | 13 comments". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  3. "FNDMNTLS - Leticia Bufoni". Beats by Dre. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  4. Ain, Morty (July 6, 2015). "Skateboarder Leticia Bufoni bares all". espn.go.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  5. Goyanes, Cristina (June 2, 2014). "Skateboarder Leticia Bufoni's Journey to the X Games Austin". shape.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  6. "The "GIZMO" Interviews: Leticia Bufoni". www.thrashermagazine.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  7. "Skateboarder Leticia Bufoni: 'I'm going to skate forever'". ESPN.com. July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  8. "What It Takes to Be a Hard-Core Skateboarder". Shape. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  9. Hendrixx, Eric (August 25, 2015). "Leticia Bufoni on the Perils of Skating Naked". rollingstone.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  10. "Leticia Bufoni's official X Games athlete biography". X Games. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  11. Book, Guinness (April 1, 2017). "Most wins World Cup Skateboarding World Rankings (Street, female)". guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  12. League, Street (October 4, 2015). "Leticia Bufoni Makes History As The First Womens Super Crown Champ". streetleague.com. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  13. Ain, Morty (July 6, 2015). "Leticia Bufoni: 'I'm going to skate forever'". espn.com. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  14. Jacqui Palumbo. "New York's radical female and non-binary skateboarders -- in photos". CNN. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  15. Glass, Alana (March 27, 2015). "The Most Powerful Women In International Sports". forbes.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  16. Long, Michael (September 5, 2018). "Paul Pogba named world's most marketable athlete of 2018". Sportspromedia.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  17. Magazine, Forbes (December 19, 2018). "10 destaques brasileiros abaixo dos 30 anos". forbes.uol.com.br. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  18. Gardner, Steve. "Skateboarder Leticia Bufoni sets world record with jump from plane at 9,000 feet". USA TODAY.
  19. "USCIS on LinkedIn: #NewUSCitizen". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
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