DES MOINES, Iowa — Lily Salazar couldn't find words to describe how she felt when she walked into Lauridsen Skatepark this weekend. The 11-year-old from Urbandale said it was overwhelming.
"When I first got here...I was speechless," said Salazar. "I didn’t really know what to say. It was so cool, just watching so many great athletes performing and doing their best."
One of the athletes was US pro skater Bryce Wettstein. The Olympic-bound skater from California signed Lily's brand new Dew Tour skateboard.
Lily was among dozens of young fans carrying boards, hats, and other items to be signed by professional skateboarders.
Sky Brown, a 12-year-old international skateboarding sensation from the UK, had quite the following. Brynleigh Carlson showed up on her 11th birthday Sunday to watch her.
"It was exciting to watch," said Carlson. "There's quite a few sports that girls can't compete in, so I think it's really cool that a lot of women and men are competing in this."
Anahi and Yocelyn Lozano both love watching Sky on YouTube and both were able to get a picture with her.
"Sky was my first favorite skateboarder," said Anahi, age 10. "I just love her videos so much."
Roos Zwetsloot, pro from the Netherlands, placed third in the women's street division Sunday and is headed to the Tokyo Olympics. She says one of her greatest joys is being a role model.
"That’s the thing I want to be for the girls," said Zwetsloot. "So I hope that we can be an inspiration to them so they know that we can also do it and just push the limits, trust yourself, just trust what you’ve got, and then they can also do it."
Poe Pinson, 16, represented the US at the street skateboarding finals. She said she didn't expect to make the cut.
"It was unexpected, but I was stoked," she said.
Her dad, Kenny, came from Florida to cheer her on.
"We started when she was four years old, and that was her birthday present: to go to the skate park in in Fernandina Beach, Florida," Kenny said. "I’m not a skateboarding dad. So I can’t take any kind of credit. I just learned from her."
Pinson said, though she feels skateboarding is still a male-dominated sport, "Times are changing. Women are coming in hard. We're coming in."
