Matt Berger competes at the Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest. (Photo via Kenji Haruta)
Kamloops native Matt Berger is going back to the Olympics.
The 30-year-old, who lives in Huntington Beach, California, is one of four athletes who qualified for the Paris Games based on their performances across World Skate events over the past two years, as well as the Olympic Qualifier Series which concluded this past weekend in Budapest, Hungary.
Berger, who also featured at the 2020 Olympic Games, will once again compete in the men’s street event, looking to better his 20th place finish.
“I’m honoured to be skating for Team Canada representing my homeland for the second time,” Berger said, in a post on Instagram. “Thank you to everyone who’s been apart of this journey [and] thank you skateboarding.”
His best finish at the World Skateboard Championships was in 2021 when he finished sixth. In 2024, Berger finished seventh in the World Skate Dubai Street Men’s Final.
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Berger will be joined by London’s Cordano Russell and Delta’s Ryan Decenzo, who will both make their Olympic debuts as part of Canada’s men’s skateboard street team.
The 37-year-old Decenzo, represented Team Canada at Santiago 2023 where he finished fourth in the men’s street event. Russell, a 19-year-old former football player, was the top Canadian in the men’s street World Skateboarding Rankings at the end of the Olympic Qualifier Series, at number 16.
The trio will be joined by 14-year-old Fay De Fazio Ebert of Toronto, who is likely going to be the youngest Canadian at the Paris Olympics. De Fazio Ebert won gold in the women’s park event at the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games.
“This qualification period began back in June 2022, the dedication required to get to this point has been incredibly demanding,” Adam Higgins, high performance director for Canada Skateboard said.
“These four skateboarders have kept pushing and progressing, and now they have the honour of representing skateboarding and Canada on the Olympic stage.”
The men’s street skateboarding event will take place on July 27 (Day 1) at La Concorde 3, while the women’s park event will take place August 6 (Day 11) at La Concorde 4.
