One of the Central Coast's newest world champions was officially recognized Wednesday.
Claire Parks — a 16-year-old north San Luis Obispo County resident — was presented with a certificate of recognition by the City of Atascadero for her world championship in skate scootering.
Parks took home first place in a competition in Barcelona in September at the World Skate Scootering Pro Tour, which earned her the No. 1 spot globally. That victory was preceded by a handful of other first-place finishes at high-profile competitions, including in Madrid, Spain and Buenos Aires, Argentina, pushing her ever closer to the peak of the
world's best scooter athletes.
"It was crazy. I was really nervous for that one," Parks said about her victory in Barcelona. "That was really scary, actually. I don't know why. I think it's because I've won other ones and that put stress on me."
Parks' first international competition was in 2019. Her first competition ever was in 2017 in Atascadero — a meteoric rise to the top for the young extreme-sports athlete.
As for her future plans, Parks said she will be competing in Sydney, Australia next month, Rome in 2024, and onto the Olympics in 2028.
Parks and other local scooter athletes compete out of ATown Park, a facility that offers 8,000 square feet of indoor plus 7,000 square feet of outdoor riding space.
