Monster Energy congratulates team rider Liz Akama on taking first place in Women's Skateboard Street at the SLS Apex 01 competition in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Unstoppable performance! Monster Energy congratulates team rider Liz Akama on taking first place in Women's Skateboard Street at the SLS Apex 01 competition in Las Vegas. In the official 2024 SLS Championship Tour contest presented by Street League Skateboarding (SLS), the 15-year-old from Miyagi, Japan, earned the win and crucial ranking points.
Presented by Monster Energy as the official energy drink sponsor, the 2024 SLS Championship Tour offers the largest equal-gender purse in competitive skateboarding. Riders compete for a total of $1.8 million in prize money, including $100,000 each for SLS Super Crown Champions.
The 2024 schedule includes arena events in San Diego (April 20), followed by Australia (October), Tokyo, Japan (November 23), and the 2024 SLS Super Crown World Championships in Brazil (December 14-15). For the first time, the series also features three brand-new SLS Apex events, allowing riders to boost their SLS ranking points in best trick competitions on challenging obstacles modeled after famous street spots.
Contested inside the UFC Apex facility operated by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotion, SLS Apex 01 featured a true-to-life replica of the legendary Beverly Hills High School nine-stair handrail spot, famous from major skateboard videos. The formula for scoring was simple: No Run scores, all Best Tricks! Each rider received seven attempts to land the most difficult moves on the iconic spot, with winners decided on the compounded total of their three highest scores.
Monster Energy's Liz Akama dropped into the SLS Apex competition as a top contender after recently taking first place in the World Skateboarding Tour Dubai Street 2024 event, an official Olympic qualifier for Paris 2024, on March 10.
Battling against riders from China, the Netherlands, and the United States in the Women's Skateboard Street final, Akama proceeded to claim the win without missing a single trick while constantly increasing the technical difficulty. For her first attempt, Akama hit the nine-stair handrail with a frontside feeble grind for 5.0 points. Next, she upped the ante with a perfectly poised backside Smith grind for 5.1 points. Sealing her victory, Akama finessed a technical Barley grind to revert for 7.1 points and a total score of 17.2 points for first place.
When asked about her experience in the high-stakes final, a calm and collected Akama said, "I did not feel any pressure. I just did what I normally do, the usual routine."
Akama won the Japanese National Skateboarding Championships at age 12. In 2023, she earned victories in the World Skateboarding Tour competition in Rome and the Street League Select Series event in Los Angeles. Akama owns three X Games medals (two silver and one bronze).
Monster Energy riders also brought the heat to Saturday's Men's Skateboard Street final. In the down-to-the-wire competition, 23-year-old Giovanni Vianna from Santo André, Brazil, finished closely outside the podium in fourth place. The reigning SLS Super Crown Champion stoked the crowd with tricks, including Caballerial frontside bluntslide fakie (9.0 points), frontside Half Cab backside Smith grind (9.2 points), and a never-seen-in-competition Caballerial backside noseblunt (9.0 points) for a total of 27.2 points; a mere 0.1 points off the podium.
Also sending heavy tricks, 17-year-old Filipe Mota from Patos de Minas, Brazil, landed technical bangers such as bigspin hurricane grind (8.5 points) and joined the Nine Club with a Caballerial hurricane for 9.1 points, finishing in seventh place.
Next on the calendar, riders will battle for SLS Championship points in the next big SLS stadium event: SLS San Diego will go down on April 20. Don't miss it!
For more on Liz Akama, Giovanni Vianna, Filipe Mota, and the Monster Energy skateboarding team, visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for exclusive updates as the action sports season continues.
About Monster Energy
Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, it's the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.
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SOURCE Monster Energy
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