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Letícia Bufoni facts for kids

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Letícia Bufoni
Skate-leticia-bufoni.jpg
Personal information
Birth name Letícia Bufoni e Silva
Born (1993-04-13) April 13, 1993 (age 31)
São Paulo, Brazil
Residence Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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
Women's street skateboarding
Representing  Brazil
World Championships
Gold 2015 Chicago Street
Silver 2016 Los Angeles Street
Silver 2017 Los Angeles Street
Silver 2018 Rio de Janeiro Street
Summer X Games
Silver 2010 Los Angeles Street
Bronze 2011 Los Angeles Street
Silver 2012 Los Angeles Street
Gold 2013 Foz do Iguaçu Street
Gold 2013 Barcelona Real Women
Gold 2013 Los Angeles Street
Bronze 2014 Austin Street
Bronze 2017 Minneapolis Street
Gold 2018 Norway Street
Silver 2018 Sydney Street
Gold 2019 Shanghai Street
Gold 2021 California Street

Letícia Bufoni e Silva (born April 13, 1993) is a Brazilian-American professional street skateboarder. She is a six-time X Games gold medalist.

Early life

Bufoni was born in São Paulo. She began skating at age nine, and her grandmother bought her first skateboard when she was 11.

"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."

"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." Her father eventually relented.

At the age of 14, Bufoni moved to the United States with older friends. She attended Hollywood High School, but left after missing so much school that she was in danger of being expelled.

Career

In 2007, Bufoni competed in her first X Games at the age of 14 in Los Angeles.

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.

She has become one of the world's best-known and most influential action sports athletes. Bufoni was ranked the #1 women's street skateboarder by World Cup of Skateboarding four years in a row 2010–2013 and appeared in 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.

Leticia Bufoni au Red Bull Conquest Paris
Bufoni at the 2021 Red Bull Paris Conquest

In 2015, she won the first Street League Skateboarding Women's SLS Super Crown World Championship in Chicago, IL. She also appeared in the ESPN Magazine – The Body Issue. She was also the first female skater to sign for Nike SB in 2015.

In 2018, Forbes named Bufoni one of The Most Powerful Women In International Sports for 2018 (#25) and made Sports Pro Media's list for The World's Most Marketable Athletes for 2018 (#41). Further in 2018, she was named to the Forbes Brazil "Under 30" list.

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.

Bufoni is the official athlete representative for World Skate, the International Olympic Committee-recognized governing body for Skateboarding.

Racing

A racing fan since her youth, Bufoni raced go-karts at a track on the parking lot of the Shopping Aricanduva mall, which was located near a skate park that she grew up on. She eventually stopped to focus on skateboarding when she moved to America, but occasionally dabbled in supercar racing when available. She built a drift car in 2020.

In 2022, as she scaled back her skating career to focus on other projects, she began racing in Nitro Rallycross' side-by-side class. Despite racing without practice, Bufoni finished seventh and sixth in her first weekend at ERX Motor Park. She ran the full 2023–24 Nitrocross SxS season and placed fifth in points.

Bufoni made her desert racing at the NORRA 500 in October 2023, where she shared a modified Nissan Frontier with Chris Forsberg. The two won the Stock Production class.

Personal life

On April 7, 2021, Bufoni became a citizen of the United States.

Competitions

Awards

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Letícia Bufoni para niños

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