Melissa Williams (skateboarder)

Last updated

Melissa Williams
Personal information
NationalitySouth African
Born (1985-06-12) 12 June 1985 (age 36)
Cape Town, South Africa
Home town Panorama, Cape Town, South Africa [1]
Occupation
  • Skateboarder
  • musician
  • entrepreneur
Spouse(s)Leon Bester
Sport
CountrySouth Africa
Sport Skateboarding
Position Goofy-footed
Rank44th (June 2021) [2]
Event(s) Park
Pro Tour(s) Dew Tour
Vans Park Series
Achievements and titles
Regional finals
  • 2018 Vans Park Series Africa Continental Championships: Women's park – Gold
  • 2019 Vans Park Series Africa Regionals: Women's park – Gold
National finals
  • 2021 South African Skateboarding Championship: Women's park – Gold
  • 2020 South African Skateboarding Championship: Women's park – Gold

Melissa Williams (born 12 June 1985) is a South African skateboarder. [3]

Contents

She competed in the women's park event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and was the oldest woman participating in skateboarding at the Games. [3]

Biography

Williams was born and grew up in Panorama, a suburb of Cape Town, and it was there where she started skateboarding at age 12. [4] In her mid-twenties, she lived in London for three years and, as she described, "spent a lot of time skating all the incredible bowls, snake runs, and [skate]parks that England has to offer." [1]

A person of many interests and pursuits, Williams has worked as an interviewer and organizer for Blunt Magazine, played drums for the bands Black Lung and Bilderberg Motel, boxed competitively, been the marketing manager for the South African branch of RVCA, managed operations of several restaurants in Cape Town, and founded and operated a social media and marketing company. [5] [6] She is not a professional skateboarder but rather skates for fun, in addition to surfing regularly. [5] When asked if there is anything she still wants to achieve, considering all she has already accomplished, Williams responded, "…there is so much cool stuff to do in this life. I want to do it all." [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Jackson, Luke (4 January 2017). "Melissa Williams - Where Is My Mind?". Session Magazine (75): 36–41. Retrieved 1 August 2021– via Issuu.
  2. ↑ "Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings (Park, Female)". World Skate . Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Athletes: WILLIAMS Melissa (Skateboarding)". Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Olympics.com . Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "Promoting women's Skateboarding in South Africa". Cape Talk (Radio broadcast). 20 September 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  5. 1 2 Kuschke, Jazz (23 October 2018). "Meet the woman taking South African women's skating to the world". Red Bull . Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Under My Skin, Episode 06 – Melissa Williams". Session Magazine (Video). 31 October 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
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