From O’ahu to the Tokyo

The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan are rapidly approaching. 40 men and 40 women will have the chance to compete for skateboarding glory at the 2020 Olympics, but those 80 skateboarders must first earn their spot! Some, however, already have their spot cemented it seems. For instance, Heimana Reynolds.

With the second and final Olympic Qualifying Season already underway, it’s starting to become apparent who will be skating at the Olympics. A quick look toward the Olympic World Skateboarding Ranking will tell you who is currently in first place in each discipline, which almost ensures the skater will be competing at the Olympics by this point. 

As long as these first place skaters can avoid injuries and be ready to skate this upcoming July and August, it’s safe to assume they’ve already earned their spot at the Olympics. At the top of the Olympic World Skateboarding Ranking for Men’s Park is Heimana Reynolds.

This blog post will shine a light on Reynolds and his successful professional skateboarding career. We’ll go over some of his sponsors, most notable contest runs, results, and more!

How Do You Get To the Olympics?

The biggest confusion behind the Olympics is picking out the competitors. You’ve probably seen many names, but you’ve already heard that there are only 16 spots. So, how does this work?

Selecting the competitors is based on a point system. These points are earned by skating in specifically sanctioned skateboarding events. There are two qualifying seasons. The first was from January 2019 to September 30, 2019. So this one has already happened.

The second qualifying season is from October 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020. The skater’s best two scores from the first season get added to their best 5 scores from the second season. This will create the Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings.

From this ranking, you will get who is eligible to compete in the Olympic games. Now, part of what determines this is that there are quotas that have to be met for each country and continent. This way you can have an equal balance of skaters from different countries and not only skaters from USA, Japan, and Brazil. 

Okay, now let’s get into the actual skaters of the Olympics! It’s without a doubt one of the biggest achievements for a skater to go on this journey to the Olympics. But, it looks like they’re having a blast, so I think they’re enjoying the journey!

Who is Heimana Reynolds?

Heimana Reynolds was born on August 1st, 1998 on the Island of O’ahu in Hawaii. Though much of his time growing up was spent surfing, his father got him into skateboarding at a young age. Kamiloiki Skatepark in Hawaii soon became like a second home. As the regular-footed youngster quickly progressed and gained some serious skills, he was taking his ability to the next level.

By the age of 10, he was being hailed as the next big thing. In 2010, he was the winner of Disney XD’s “Next X”, where he was mentored by 12-time X-Games medalist, Rune Glifberg. Since then, Reynolds has competed and done very well at several contests including X-Games,  Dew Tours, Vans Park Series and more.

On top of skateboarding, he’s also a very talented surfer. Growing up in Hawaii, surfing is one of the most accessible sports. It’s so engrained in the culture, much like skateboarding, that it’s not surprising he transferred those skills to skateboarding. To this day, he still surfs and looks like he loves it.

Heimana Reynolds Journey to the Olympics

Currently, Heimana Reynolds is a USA Skateboarding team member. He is currently in 1st in the Olympic World Skateboarding Ranking for Men’s Park. Overall, he has a total of 121,320 points at the time of this writing. Luiz Francisco (Brazil) and Corey Juneu (USA) are currently in 2nd and 3rd places respectively, but have some catching up to do.

Some of his sponsors include Pocket Pistols, Vans (flow), Proper Rideshop, S1, Independent, 187, Spitfire, Stance, and Bones Bearings. At the ripe age of only 21, Reynolds has clearly made a name for himself in the competition circuit.

Most recently, he placed 2nd at the National Championships Men’s Park Finals in October 2019. He then placed 15th at the World Skate OI Stu Open Men’s Park Semi-Finals in November 2019.

That’s not to say he hasn’t had his fair share of first place finishes in 2019. He took home the first place prize at the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar Men’s Park Finals, the World Skate Sao Paulo Park World Championships Men’s Finals, the International Skateboarding Open Park Nanjing Men’s Finals, and at the X-Games Boise Men’s Park Finals. With results like these, no wonder he’s on top of the leaderboard! 

Heimana Reynolds in 2020

From the looks of his Instagram, he’s practicing for the upcoming qualifier rounds. The next qualifying events for Park is the WS Lima Open from March 16th-22nd in Lima, Peru. Even though he has a big lead over his opponents, he needs to have a good run in this event to keep that lead.

In Conclusion

We’re not sure about you guys, but we can’t wait to see what Reynolds brings to the table at the upcoming Olympics. As the the WS Lima Open is coming up fast, he’s gotta go all in to ensure he keeps the lead. We know he’s going to be bringing some amazing tricks to the upcoming Qualifying Events and the Olympics.

Though most of us will simply be watching the Olympics, Braille Skateboarding knows that some of you dream of competing at the Olympics one day. We can help you achieve that goal! Check out Skateboarding Made Simple in our Online Shop. It’s the most detailed lesson plan for skateboarding in existence, and you will surely improve your skills after watching and studying our SMS tutorials. With 9 different volumes, you’ll go from learning how to ride on a board, to skating skateparks and landing more advanced flatground tricks…FIRST TRY! Now get out there and skate!

What do you think of Heimana Reynolds? What tricks do you think he’s practicing on his road to the Olympics? Who else should we cover as they’re on their way to the Olympics? Leave it in the comments below!

Feature Image Credit: Express Blog