(Top image by Andrew Mapstone/Vans Australia)It was off the kitchen bench of my family home on a farm outside Taupo that I first heard of Bowman Hansen. Holding a gold medal up and an index finger up, the 24-year-old was the A3 lead in the March 8 edition of the local paper, the Taupo Times.Hansen was celebrating his victory in the Van Park Series Continental Championship in Sydney, which he'd won the weekend before. Hansen was the only Kiwi to enter—and will now take a spot at the World Championship Finals in Chicago in September.He's the first New Zealand to ever qualify for for the Park World Champs—and it comes at a crucial time in skateboarding's transition from the edge of the mainstream bowl to deep down inside it.Last year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that skateboarding would be included at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Though it is yet to be decided what particular disciplines will be included, there's a pretty reasonable chance that Hansen will be in the mix if park and/or terrain are there.Read the rest of this article on VICE SPORTS.
Bowman Hansen celebrating victory in the Van Park Series Continental Championship in Sydney recently. Photo credit: Andrew Mapstone/Vans Australia.
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