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]
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Letícia Bufoni e Silva | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 13, 1993[1] São Paulo, Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Skateboarder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2002–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 97 lb (44 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Skateboarding | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
- 2015 – 1st Place: Far'n High Women's Finals – Paris, France
- 2015 – 1st Place: Excellent Mystic Skate Cup Women's Street – Prague, Czech Republic
- 2015 – 1st Place: Street League Super Crown Women's Finals – Chicago, USA
- 2016 – 1st Place: Far'n' High Women's Finals – Paris, France – Paris, France
- 2016 – 1st Place: Mystic Sk8 Cup Women's Open – Prague, Czech Republic
- 2016 – 2nd Place: Street League Super Crown Women's Finals – Los Angeles, USA
- 2017 – 3rd Place: X Games Minneapolis Skateboard Street – Minneapolis, USA
- 2017 – 2nd Place: Street League Super Crown Women's Finals – Los Angeles, USA
- 2018 – 1st Place: X Games Norway Skateboard Street – Oslo, Norway
- 2018 – 2nd Place: World Cup of Skateboarding Street – Vigo, Spain
- 2018 – 2nd Place: X Games Skateboard Street – Sydney, Australia
- 2019 – 1st Place: X Games Skateboard Street – Shanghai, China
- 2019 – 2nd Place: Dew Tour – Long Beach, California, USA
- 2021 - 1st Place: X Games Skateboard Street - Vista, California, USA
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 also appears in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, an enhanced remake of the first two 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
External links
- Letícia Bufoni on X
- Letícia Bufoni on Instagram
- Letícia Bufoni on Facebook
- Letícia Bufoni at the X Games (archive)
- Leticia Bufoni athlete profile at Red Bull
- This is Leticia Bufoni's life less ordinary on redbull.com
- Red Bull Roller Coaster
- The GIZMO interviews: Leticia Bufoni on Thrasher
- Leticia Bufoni: I'm going to skate forever on ESPN
- On the perils of skating naked for Rolling Stone
- Leticia Bufoni in the Nine Club with Chris Roberts