Lizzie Armanto

Elizabeth Armanto
In Copenhagen, 2015
Personal information
Full nameElizabeth Marika Armanto
Born (1993-01-26) January 26, 1993 (age 31)[1]
Ventura County, California, U.S.[2][3]
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Spouse
(m. 2020)
Websitelizziearmanto.com
Sport
CountryFinland
United States
SportSkateboarding
PositionRegular-footed
Rank5th[4]
EventPark
Medal record
Women's park skateboarding
Representing  United States
X Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Austin
Representing  Finland
Nitro World Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Vista

Elizabeth Marika Armanto (born January 26, 1993) is an American-Finnish professional skateboarder. She is part of the Birdhouse skate Team and is also sponsored by Vans with whom she has her own pro-model shoe.

Early life and career

Armanto was born to a Finnish father and an American mother.[5][6] She holds dual citizenship in the United States and Finland.[7] She is of Filipino descent through her maternal grandfather.[8]

Armanto grew up in Santa Monica, California. She started skating in 2007 with her younger brother and developed a love for skating bowls and vert.

Armanto has won over 30 skateboarding awards. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, she placed first overall in the World Cup of Skateboarding points race. In 2013, Armanto won silver at the first ever Women's Skateboard Park event at X Games in Barcelona, Spain. She won the 2014 Van Doren Invitational in Huntington Beach, California.[9][3]

In 2018, Armanto became the first female skater to complete The Loop, a 360-degree ramp.[10][11]

In January 2019, Armanto revealed that she joined the Finnish skateboarding national team and would represent the country at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[6][7] in 2019 Armanto was guest on episode 168 of the Skateboarding podcast The Nine Club with Chris Roberts.

Personal life

Armanto married Belgian skateboarder, Axel Cruysberghs, on October 16, 2020.

Video game appearances

Armanto is a playable character in the video games Tony Hawk's Shred Session, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2.

Sports diplomacy

In 2019, Armanto traveled to Denmark as a Sports Envoy for the U.S. State Department's Sports Diplomacy Office.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Lizzie Armanto Interview". Girls Skate Network. January 29, 2011.
  2. ^ "Elizabeth Marika Armanto, Born 01/26/1993 in California". California Birth Index.
  3. ^ a b "Lizzie Armanto". lizziearmanto.com.
  4. ^ "Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings – Park, Female". World Skate. June 30, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "Suomi saamassa kovan luokan skeittaajan Tokion olympialaisiin". Sportti.com (in Finnish). January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Valta, Ville-Veikko (January 16, 2019). "Suomi sai uuden kultamitalisuosikin olympialaisiin! Lizzie, 25, valitsi isänsä kotimaan – "Hän on maailman paras"". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Niemeläinen, Jonne (January 16, 2019). "Rullalautailumaajoukkue houkutteli lajin huippunimen Suomen riveihin – tavoitteena paikka Tokion olympialaisiin". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  8. ^ Maddela, Anthony (July 29, 2020). "Lizzie Skates the Light Fantastic". Positively Filipino. Retrieved January 10, 2021. Lizzie's mother, Eva Armanto, was born in the US to a Filipino father.
  9. ^ "International Skateboarding Federation – Lizzie Armanto". internationalskateboardingfederation.com.
  10. ^ Copelin, Nathan (November 26, 2019). "How Lizzie Armanto became a protégé of Tony Hawk". i-D. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "Watch a woman complete Tony Hawk's famous skateboarding loop". The Irish News. August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  12. ^ "Sports and Public Diplomacy Envoys (2005-Present) | Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs". Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Retrieved October 5, 2020.