TIME magazine has included Rayssa Leal in the first edition of its TIME100 Sports list, dedicated to the one hundred most influential people in world sport. The Brazilian skater, 18, is the only representative of her country in the selection.

Born on January 4, 2008 in Imperatriz, in the interior of Maranhão, one of Brazil's poorest states, Leal first came to international attention in 2015, when a video of her, aged seven, landing a trick on a handrail while dressed as a fairy was shared by Tony Hawk. From there came the nickname "Fadinha" and a precocious career: at Tokyo 2020, where skateboarding made its Olympic debut, she won silver in street at the age of 13, becoming the youngest Olympic medalist in Brazil's history.

It remains one of the defining images of skateboarding's entry into the Olympic programme. Three years later she confirmed her status at Paris 2024 with bronze, in one of the most watched and talked-about street finals of the Games. At Paris 2024 she added bronze. On the World Skate circuit she is a regular presence on the World Skateboarding Tour: she won the Street World Champion title in 2024 in the shadow of the Colosseum and is a familiar face at the Rome stops, where over the years she has become one of the athletes most loved by the Colle Oppio crowd.

TIME's recognition comes just days before her return to Italy: Rayssa Leal is among the superstars announced for the Street Skateboarding World Cup, taking place from June 14 to 21 at the Colle Oppio skatepark in Rome. The event officially opens the Olympic qualification pathway towards Los Angeles 2028: the World Cup Rome is the first stop worldwide this year valid for the road to LA28.

For Leal, after silver in Tokyo and bronze in Paris, it would be her third Olympic Games.