Skateboarding made its debut as an Olympic sport just three years ago at the 2020/2021 Tokyo Olympics. At this year’s Paris Olympics, the sport is returning and introducing the world to a new group of exciting young athletes. This includes 18-year-old American Jewish park-style skateboarder Minna Stess.
Here are 18 things to know about her.
1. Minna was born on April 4, 2006 in Petaluma, CA to an interfaith Jewish family.
2. She’s an Aries!
3. She started skating as a toddler after watching her older brother, Finnley.
“When she was 6, she started getting good at it,” her father Andrew Stess told the Jewish News of Northern California. At age 10, she had won the World Cup Championship and by age 11 she was competing in her first pro competition.
4. Please enjoy this photo of Minna as a baby skater.
5. Minna’s family isn’t religious.
“We’re not religious, but Minna very much understands the culture,” her father said. “She understands where she comes from.”
6. She grew up celebrating Hanukkah and Passover with her grandparents!
7. Want more baby Minna skater content? You got it!
8. Minna has a crazy amount of accolades.
She first made the U.S. national team in 2019, went to the 2020/2021 Tokyo Olympics as an alternate, took first place at the 2021 USA National Championships’ Women’s Park competition and placed third at the 2023 Park World Championship in Rome. At the Park World Championship, Minna was the first female American skater to ever medal at the event.
9. Check out her third place run:
10. She attended Valley Oaks Independent Studies High School, which allowed her to study virtually while traveling for competitions.
11. Minna is excited to see the sport growing among girls.
“There are so many more girls at skate parks,” she told a reporter. “There used to literally be none. I’d be the only girl there. Everything was fine, but there were just no girls. Now there are girls everywhere, which I think the Olympics helped with. Literally there are children in different countries now doing tricks I never would have thought a girl would be doing, or anyone would be doing.”
12. Here’s a cool action shot, because why not!
13. She knows how to keep calm under pressure and what makes her a good skater.
“It’s easy to get caught up,” Minna told Teen Vogue in May 2024. “I can sometimes be like, ‘Hmm, I should be doing this trick.’ But then I just realize I don’t need to do a certain trick to be a good skater. I can just skate and do what I want to do, and that’s what makes me a good skater.”
14. How many backside airs can she do in a row? See for yourself!
15. According to her website, some of her hobbies include hanging out with friends, playing video games and “dipping her toe into acting.”
16. Minna never saw herself going to the Olympics.
“I’ve always been competitive,” Minna said in the Teen Vogue interview. “But I never thought the Olympics would be something that I could be doing. It’s kind of crazy that this is all happening now.”
17. But check out her reaction when she realized she qualified:
18. Minna is just interested in skating her best at the Olympics.
“You can literally do whatever you want in the contest,” she said, “but you have to know the right strategy. The judges judge differently every time. A medal would be nice, but I want to do my best.”
