Coco Yoshizawa

Coco Yoshizawa is a Japanese skateboarder, born on 22 September 2009 in Kanagawa and raised in Sagamihara. She first tried skateboarding at seven through her brother's influence, and at eleven she watched 13-year-old Momiji Nishiya win Olympic gold with a move she could already perform. She had no phone and used no social media, so neither she nor her family knew how good she was. After 2021 she began competing, placing fifth at the Japanese national championships, eighth at the 2022 Japan Open and fifth at the 2023 World Championships. She qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics by winning the second Olympic Qualifier Series event and, at fourteen, won the gold medal in the women's street event with 272.75, ahead of Liz Akama and Rayssa Leal. Time magazine named her a Girl of the Year in 2025.