Cordano Russell of Team Canada competes during the Men's Street Finals on day three of the Olympic Games.Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
At six-foot-three, and 230 pounds of muscle, Cordano Russell could be a football player.
In fact, speaking to reporters after the men’s street skateboarding final on Monday in Paris, someone asked the 19-year-old if he would consider playing football for the University of San Diego, where the teenager has been admitted on scholarship.
“Heck no,” Russell laughed.
Although he did spend time playing football in high school, skateboarding is Russell’s passion and has been since, at four years old, he found a discarded board in a bush, he said.
So on Monday, after a rocky performance in the medal final, Russell remains focused on the positive.
“I just see it as: it just wasn’t meant to be. And you know, I can’t worry about what was destined for that moment,” he said.
Russell finished 7th in the men’s event with 211.80 points. At his first Olympics, he became the first Canadian to make a men’s final in street.
Despite a strong showing in the qualifiers, in which he earned 263.87 points and was less than 7 points away from a podium position, his fate was sealed early after multiple falls in his two line run passes. (In skateboarding, the athletes are marked on line passes, as well as a separate trick component.)
Asked about what happened with the falls, Russell said: “To be honest, I’m not that sure, I’m not that sure because, first line, the trick that I was starting with, wasn’t feeling as comfortable.”
Afterwards, Russell shared a moment with his father, who told him: “let it go, let it go.” (Russell’s mom, sister and brother were also in the crowd cheering him on.)
But on his second pass, Russell continued to have trouble, going down again. This took him by surprise. “I was fully dialed in. I was fully confident. And to miss a trick that I haven’t missed all event was really confusing for me when that happened.”
With a medal out of reach, the teenager seemed to relax.
In the trick portion of the competition, Russell looked like a different competitor, effortlessly floating down rails, twirling his board beneath his feet mid-air, and balancing backward on slides.
Russell said he was particularly happy to lay down the Cordano Spin, which starts off backward, involves popping into a “fakie,” a 270 degree spin, and landing blind on the rail, while finishing with a 360 spin.
He earned consistent high marks with his three tricks and one garnered the third-highest score for a trick in the final at 94.93 points.
“And for me to put all those out there, those three that I’ve been drilling hours and just, bruises, and bumps, everything. Everything. Training, recovering, and for those to all go down it’s very special to me. That is a win in my book.”
As for what’s next, Russell – who as born in London, Ont. but lives in California – says he’ll be back on the competition scene soon.
Oh, and expect to see him at the next “four or five Olympics.”
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