While many of us might be looking for ways to fill up our time in quarantine, an 11-year-old in Brazil has taken full advantage of extra quarantine hours to accomplish something never before done in the world of skateboarding: a 1080-degree turn on a vertical ramp.
With his school closed due to COVID-19, the young prodigy Gui Khury has spent his extra time training on the vertical ramp his family built for him in his grandmother’s backyard. He credits the achievement to more training time and a healthier diet during the lockdown.
His parents caught the feat on video and quickly posted it online. After all, it’s quite a big deal considering the previous record was a 900-degree spin set by Tony Hawk in 1999.
At age eight, Khury became the youngest skateboarder to achieve the 900-degree feat. American Tom Schaar and a handful of other skaters have completed 1080-degree turns, but on mega ramps which provide more speed and velocity.
Khury’s next goal is to practice the trick for use in competition and maybe even go for the elusive 1260-degree spin, which has only ever been achieved by one person on a mega ramp.
Skateboarding was supposed to make its Olympic debut in Tokyo this year but has been pushed back to at least 2021 due to the pandemic. We might one day see Khury competing at the Olympic level, but for now, he is celebrating the victory at home with mac ‘n cheese.
