Gavin Bottger (/ˈbɒtɡər/ BOT-ghər; born January 5, 2007)[2] is an American skateboarder and member of the USA Skateboarding National Team. He won gold at the 2023 World Skateboarding Championship. He represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Gavin Bottger
Personal information
NicknameGavo
Born (2007-01-05) January 5, 2007 (age 17)
South Lake Tahoe, California, U.S.
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportSkateboarding
PositionGoofy-footed
Rank3rd[1]
EventPark
Medal record
Men's skateboarding
Representing the  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Rome Park
X Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Minneapolis Next X Park
Silver medal – second place 2019 Minneapolis Next X Park
Silver medal – second place 2021 California Park
Silver medal – second place 2022 California Park
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Chiba Park

Early life

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Bottger was born to Renee and Scott Bottger in South Lake Tahoe, California and raised in Oceanside, California.[3][4] He began skateboarding at five years old.[2][5]

Career

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In December 2022, Bottger was named to the USA Skateboarding National Team.[6] He competed at the 2022 World Skateboarding Championship in Sharjah, which were postponed until February 2023, where he broke his wrist on his second run in the quarterfinals. He underwent surgery and was out for six weeks.[7][8]

He then competed at the 2023 World Skateboarding Championship in Rome in October 2023 where he won a gold medal in the park event with a score of 94.03.[9][10]

As of June 2024, Bottger was ranked third in the Olympic World Skateboarding rankings, and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[11][12] During the men's park event he finished in tenth place during the preliminary round with a score 86.95 and failed to advance to the finals.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ "Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings – Park, Male". World Skate. August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Gavin Bottger". olympics.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  3. ^ Blakely, Brian (May 1, 2018). "Under The Microscope: Gavin Bottger". skateboarding.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  4. ^ Jacobson, Miranda (February 3, 2022). "South Lake local skateboarder, 15, makes 2022 Olympic Team". Tahoe Daily Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  5. ^ Brightman, Elyse (June 11, 2014). "Skateboarding's next generation". Tahoe Daily Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  6. ^ Fast, Annie (May 16, 2024). "Gavin Bottger: the most casual skater in the Olympic Qualifier Series - until he drops in". olympics.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Merrell, Chloe (February 11, 2023). "Skateboarding Park World Championships 2022 in 2023: Brazilian Augusto Akio tops men's semi-finals". olympics.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  8. ^ Blakely, Brian (March 29, 2023). "Back In Action: Gavin Bottger Is Ripping After Six Weeks Of Injury Downtime". skateboarding.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  9. ^ "WST Rome Park World Championships 2023: Gavin Bottger leaves it late to take men's title". olympics.com. October 8, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  10. ^ Gowdy, Kristen (October 9, 2023). "Gavin Bottger Captures World Title, Minna Stess makes history". teamusa.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Smith, Shawn (June 26, 2024). "Skateboarding 101: U.S. Olympic roster and athlete news". nbcolympics.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  12. ^ Zeigler, Mark (July 26, 2024). "San Diego County, and Gavin Bottger's backyard pool, is skateboarding's global epicenter". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Bravo, Christina (August 7, 2024). "San Diego stoked after local skateboarders earn medals at 2024 Paris Olympics". nbcsandiego.com. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  14. ^ Bravo, Christina (August 7, 2024). "U.S. skateboarder Bottger squeezed out of men's park final". KTVZ. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
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