CAPE TOWN – For South African professional skateboarder Jean-Marc Johannes, a chronic asthma condition was no reason to stop him from excelling in his sport.
While others his age were playing popular sport such as rugby, football and cricket, Johannes quietly went about his business of perfecting manoeuvres called Nollie heelflips, Fakie heelflips, Boardslides, Ollies and many others.
The Windsor High School (Lansdowne, Cape Town) alumnus has since become a well-known athlete on the international scene after turning professional in 2017.
Already the owner of five Guinness World Records, Johannes this week also received an accolade from Asia in the form of a Global International Podium in the Virtual Pro Skate Competition hosted by the Ministry of Sport Affairs of Indonesia.
Over two hundred top skateboarders from around the globe submitted their action videos for this competition that forms part of the build-up to the sport’s debut at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Jean-Marc Johannes’ entry was judged as one of the top five received.
Watch Jean-Marc entry in Indonesia’s Virtual Pro Skate competition:
What made the accolade so much more astonishing, is that it is the first international podium place for a South African skateboarder in a year in which so little sport was played due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read: Skateboard ace clinches Guinness world record
The five World Records Jean-Marc Johannes already owns, are:
– Most Nollie Heelflips in one minute (broken twice).
– Most Fakie heelflips in one minute.
– Most Nollie's in One minute.
– First SA International Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for competitive Skateboarding.
With the sporting world slowly opening up amid the Covid-19 pandemic, on Saturday Jean-Marc Johannes will attempt to add two more Guinness World Records to his already impressive list. These are:
– The Most 180's in one minute.
– The Most Variel heelflips in one minute.
Mike Jansen
IOL Sport