Sport
SA Skateboarding Star Jean-Marc Johannes Elevating the Sport to New Heights
Jean-Marc Johannes continues to push the boundaries of skating, both locally and internationally.
Jean-Marc Johannes has been the face of South African skateboarding for a number of years and is playing a key role in evolving the sport in the country, while also pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on the international stage.
In May this year, Johannes claimed his first podium place at the FISE World Series Am in Montpellier, France. After successfully qualifying in third place in the first half of the event, weather conditions caused the final runs to be cancelled and the previous qualification standings to be recorded as the overall results, which meant Jean-marc automatically took third place.
After successfully claiming two podiums in the previous event, achieving a Gold and Bronze podium position in the FISE Freestyle Open in Switzerland in September 2022 and taking the Best Trick to win at this year’s Ultimate X Cape Town 2023, the Cape Town-based athlete went to compete in the World Skate Olympic event in Rome, one of the qualification events for Paris 2024
If the competition and Olympic aspirations weren’t enough, Johnnes continues to evolve the sport itself by chasing Guinness World Records for trick variations, holding the records for most skateboard 360 frontside spins in 30 seconds (7), and most consecutive skateboard ollies: 323 (tied with the UK’s David Tavernor).
These aren’t the first world records Jean-Marc has broken though. In 2018, he achieved the most skateboard nollie heelflips in one minute (18), however, this was recently broken by Miklos Peller (Hungary). In 2019, Jean-Marc broke the record for the most skateboard fakie heelflips in one minute (12), which he still holds.
Looking ahead, Johannes will be competing in the World KARDO event held in Russia this August, which will see him compete against other international skaters. This will play a crucial part in Johannes’ journey into the run of Olympic events leading into 2024.
While Johannes has his eye firmly on getting to Paris for the global showpiece, his dedication to providing more exposure and helping grow the local skateboarding community in South Africa has to be commended.
“It’s a dream to continue to inspire South Africa skateboarding to bring home more medals and podiums, and inspire skateboarders from where I’m from. I want to keep the fire alive in South Africa,” said Johannes.
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