JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Fernandina Beach held a homecoming parade to celebrate Olympic skateboarder Poe Pinson, who placed fifth in the women’s street final at the Paris Olympics.
“It was honestly insane,” she told News4JAX about her experience. “I never really thought I would get there. I used to do gymnastics, so I figured once I stopped doing gymnastics, that was kind of the end of my Olympic chances. So it’s kind of crazy to get to go for skating, just something I’ve been doing my whole life.”
The 19-year-old secured a spot in Paris with an 11th place finish in the Olympic Qualifiers, which took place in Shanghai and Budapest.
Hundreds of people turned out for the event and Pinson signed autographs and posed for pictures.
So, what’s her advice to other young girls who want to be like her?
“Honestly just to keep skating,” she said. “Skating is for everybody regardless of what people tell you. There is a lot of jealousy involved, I feel like, but just do your thing. Everyone is different, everyone learns stuff differently don’t compare yourself.”
In addition to the parade, Fernandina Beach officials renamed the skate park located in Main Beach Park to “Poe Pinson Skatepark” in honor of Pinson.
According to the Fernandina Observer, there are plans to build a new skate complex at that same location, and recently, the city commission committed $90,000 in the proposed 2024-2025 budget for this project, although additional funding still needs to be cleared as it is expected to cost $1.2 million.
Pinson attended the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting on Aug. 13 to address the committee and share what the skate park means to her and why she thinks it’s important to build a new skate complex.
“Skating has taught me so much, has brought me to so many different places, kept me out of trouble,” Pinson said.