Skate prodigy Rayssa Leal: Where’s she at now? The girl we watched since she was 7

Seven years old, a fairy costume, a board. On September 7, 2015, in Imperatriz, north Brazil, a kid steps out of the school hallway and nails a heelflip dressed as a fairy. The next day, Tony Hawk shares the clip. Rayssa Leal doesn’t know it yet, but a camera won’t let her go.

The Street League pulled the image and stuck it next to the same heelflip, re‑made in 2022. Same trick, a teen instead of a fairy. Between the two: millions of followers, an Olympic medal, interviews on the channel. The stories of child stars, you know the usual ending. The kid who had it all too early and cracks at 20. With Rayssa, the question really hits home.

Imperatriz, 2015: the little fairy Tony Hawk made famous

Imperatriz is a city in Maranhão, Brazil’s poorest state according to Le Monde. Rayssa gets her first board at 6. Her parents, Lilian Mendes and Haroldo Leal, aren’t from skate. They just follow, that’s all.

The 2015 video changes the scale. The nickname sticks right away: Fadinha, the little fairy. In May 2019, in London, she finishes third in the Street League at 11. No one that young had yet stood on that podium. Two months later, in Los Angeles, she wins.

Tokyo 2021: silver at 13, and millions of eyes on her

On July 26, 2021, in Tokyo, she won the first Olympic street gold medal, was 13 years and 203 days old. Afterwards, her Instagram account gained nearly 5.8 million subscribers. A high school student, suddenly before the audience of an entire country.

That’s where the trap closes, usually. In July 2022, in Rome, she missed the podium and criticism rained down. At 14, she was blamed for no longer winning. Her complete record, we have unfolded in our portrait of Rayssa Leal. Here, what matters is what happens behind the scenes.

The Gi before each contest: what therapy changed

After Tokyo, Rayssa began therapy. In October 2022, she spoke about it without hesitation on the site ge: before each competition, she calls her psychologist, the Gi. ‘She gives me confidence.’

She also tells of the turning point. Before, she just wanted to have fun. Now, she wants to have fun and win. Both at once, without one consuming the other.

« Everything happened very quickly for me, since I was seven, since the video of the Fadinha in Imperatriz. » — Rayssa Leal, Terra – 2024

Two sessions a week, she specifies in 2024. Without that, it would be a problem. On August 9, 2026, at the Maracanãzinho in Rio, she fell during training, received a shot against pain and did a session the next morning. That evening, she won. Talk about what works for her, explains her, it clears the head and brings up another Rayssa.

The timeline

Paris 2024: a mom stuck at the village gate

In Paris, the controversy isn’t from her. Her mom, Lilian Mendes, doesn’t get permission to stay in the Olympic village. Letícia Bufoni jumps on social media: “Mom’s arriving in Paris tomorrow to set things straight. No one touches my daughter.” The link between the two was told in the story of Rayssa and Letícia Bufoni.

Le Monde describes a close guard in place since childhood. A cancelled interview six days before, questions only by email. The priority, says the press attaché: training and family.

Rewind. July 28, Place de la Concorde. Cui Chenxi and Poe Pinson miss their final tricks. Rayssa nails hers: 88.83, bronze. In the stands, Bufoni screams louder than everyone.

So, what happens to the skate star kid?

The answer is hers to give, the day after the bronze, at the Terra spot: “I’m still a kid. My fam and crew never let the adult role show up early.” No miracles, a tight schedule. School, therapy, lunch, the gym after training, the squad, free weekends.

In November 2025, she finishes high school at the same school she’s been in since she was 9. “I cried a ton,” she says. Early December, in São Paulo, she wins her fourth straight Super Crown, with a twisted right ankle.

2026 wasn’t a straight line. Bruised ankle, she skipped the Paris SLS, then finished 7th at the Asunción Worlds. But at 18, the girl filmed in a fairy costume became the one we film to inspire others: global ambassador for the Youth Olympics in Dakar, the first Olympic Games in Africa. Her advice to young riders: feel powerful, because it’s just a moment every four years.

The next chapter’s already on her calendar: a fifth Super Crown to grab on December 12‑13 in São Paulo, gold in Los Angeles in 2028 at age 20, and clips to film on the street. Nike SB’s bet on teens was on her. The star kid didn’t disappear. She grew up, well‑supported.