By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Tony Hawk is pushing for vertical skateboarding to become an Olympic event and said he is making progress in getting the high-flying discipline accepted as an exhibition sport at the 2028 Summer Olympics.
"I am the bug in their ear at every turn, at every event," Hawk said in an interview, adding that organizers are "making strides in possibly getting it as an exhibition sport at LA28."
GREATEST EVER
The 57-year-old, who is widely considered the greatest "vert"
skater of all time, said it is too late to be included as a medal sport in Los Angeles but expressed optimism that a strong showing could secure vert skating's place in future Summer Games.
"If we show what we do to the Olympic audience, there's a good chance they would want it for the next Games," he said.
Vert skateboarding, which involves aerial tricks on vertical ramps like halfpipes, has been notably absent from the Olympics despite the sport's inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Games. Only park and street disciplines have been featured.
"I do feel like it's a missed opportunity for them because as exciting as park skating is, it's not what vertical skateboarding is," Hawk said.
"It's high flying, it's big spins, and it's the kind of thing that people have gotten used to seeing on the X Games."
VERT AMBASSADOR
Hawk said he offered his portable ramp to organizers for potential use and hopes to serve as "the vert ambassador" for the Los Angeles Games.
Skateboarding competition at LA 28 is scheduled to take place at Sepulveda Basin, a location Hawk said has historical significance in skating culture dating back to the 1980s.
Beyond his Olympic advocacy, Hawk has become a sought-after spokesman due to his ability to connect with multiple generations.
He is a spokesman for Cancer Guard and recently participated in a multi-cancer early-detection blood test, motivated by his father's late-stage lung cancer diagnosis when Hawk was in his early 20s.
"I never imagined that I'd be an ambassador for anything, especially skateboarding," he said.
"It feels like a fun side quest and if I can raise awareness to this type of screening, that's all the better."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
