Teenage Skateboarding Sensation Jordan Santana Rides for Texas

Second in the series is Jordan Santana. Throughout the past year, the seventeen-year-old from Houston had been considered one of the favorites to make the three-woman team of riders representing the country in park skateboarding at the Tokyo Games. She placed second at the USA Skateboarding National Championships in May and is one of just a handful of women in the world capable of pulling off a dizzying 540-degree aerial spin—a trick that skating insiders believe could be key to medaling this summer. But later in May, at her final qualifying event in Des Moines, a shaky performance caused Santana to drop out of contention for this year’s Summer Games. But the Olympics’ loss has become the X Games’ gain, with Santana slated to return to action this week at ESPN’s annual extreme sports extravaganza. For Santana, the road to redemption begins Friday at the Women’s skateboard park competition in Southern California—and if all goes according to plan, it will end with her on the medal stand in Paris in 2024.