Peruvian skater David Dusta: From asking for coins at traffic lights for his tricks to fighting to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics | Skate | Game-Total

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Less than two years have passed since she won the last Odesaur Games, and she is now focused on the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS), the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) in Shanghai and Budapest. Now he is trying to reach his first Olympic Games: touch the sky on four wheels, put his feet on the board, and take on the biggest challenge of his short life. In China and Hungary he would correspond with Angelo Caro and the skaters of the moment. It’s another level.

David’s street comes from Los Olivos, where he still lives, and from San Martin de Porres. Asking for coins at traffic lights with other skaters in the area. Controlling the streets, stands and parks of those districts with the remnants of a sandpaper, without full shooting or using shoes to play football. Proving that he can make a living from skateboarding will make his family and his neighborhood proud.

“The biggest challenge was the economy,” he recalled in an interview with this newspaper before leaving the country. His mother wanted him to study a profession, which meant stop training. “I know I can achieve something, I can make a living out of this,” he told himself. And time proved him. “I proved it with actions, not words,” he points out proudly.

“Many doors have opened for me. My life has become more disciplined. I have always dreamed of going to international competitions and I am very happy that now through the federation we can go there. I could not finance my travels. We know other countries and skate with the pros we met online. We are competing against them and we are progressing,” he commented during a break from his routines at the Legado de Costa Verde headquarters.

Our representative knows that skateboarding has received the recognition it deserves since Tokyo 2020 and the Olympics in 2021. “Now I value it more. A while ago I thought of leaving. I’m more than motivated. It’s more than sport. It’s part of my life, it’s my job. I want to progress, I want to represent my Peru, I want to fill my family and myself with pride. ,” he says.

“I would say to anyone starting skateboarding, never give up. There will be many bumps in the road. Be persistent and it will be a part of your life.”

David Dusta | Peruvian skater, gold medal at Odesur Asunción 2022 Games

However, he will never forget what attracted him to the sport. “Skateboarding is a way to express my feelings. I express things through skating that I don’t talk about much.”

And he says what he’s talking about in rhyme. “In my spare time I am progressing at home alone and sometimes with my friends. I also teach skateboarding classes. These are the things that keep my mind busy and on the field. Because to me freestyle is as much urban art as skateboarding. Every person has their own way of expressing themselves in skateboarding. “Everybody has their own way of skating, their style, in rap battles.”

“This whole journey has been very difficult,” admits David, who overcame an ankle injury that plagued him last year after competing in Dubai, Rome, Lausanne and Tokyo for the World Tour. “Now I hope to make it to the finals and be one of the best.”

Some days, he would repeat the same ritual: practicing tricks he had prepared on the floor, as if the rails, stairs, and walls of the skatepark were in front of him. “I pin them on the floor in my imagination. I also put on some music, concentrate, go from one place to another, think of doing my best, go all out. Then you are ready to stand up as many times as necessary, in search of the dream sequence. It’s free.

How do Tuesta and Caro characterize Paris 2024?

The scoring system in skateboarding is divided into three parts: the results of previous competitions and the results of the Olympic qualifiers held in Shanghai and Budapest. Participants in the World Tour account for one-third of the points, with the remaining two-thirds distributed in qualifying rounds in China and Hungary respectively. The sum of points from all competitions will determine the final classification of skaters until Paris 2024.

The Shanghai Olympic Qualifying Series will be held on the banks of the Huangpu River from May 16 to 19. A month later, from June 20 to 23, the qualifiers will conclude at the Ludovica Complex in Budapest. Angelo Caro and David Dusta represented Peru in both tournaments.

World Skateboarding Ranking Paris 2024

• 1. Sora Shirai (Japan) – 182,553 points
• 2. Nyjah Huston (USA) – 181.726 points
• 3. Gustavo Ribeiro (Portugal) – 166,900 points
• 4. Aurelien Giraud (France) – 150,172 points
• 5. Kairi Netsuke (Japan) – 147,835 points
• 5. Kairi Netsuke (Japan) – 147,835 points
• 6. Jinwoo Onodera (Japan) – 125,693 points
• 7. Yuto Harikome (Japan) – 106,120 points
• 8. Richard Dury (Slovakia) – 108,039 points
• 9. Kelvin Hoefler (Brazil) – 86,873 points
• 10. Towa Sasaki (Japan) – 79,687 points
• 26. David Dusta (Peru) – 24,839 points
• 30. Angelo Caro (Peru) – 16,404 points