Skating Beyond Age: Meet 70-Year-Old Lena Salmi Skateboarder From Helsinki

Skateboarding is among the extreme sports that many people are hesitant to try, especially after 25 years. Not only do many people fear the risks associated with the sport but also ridicule bearing in mind the sport is mainly associated with young males. However, Lina Salmi has proven that age is just a number. The 70-year-old skateboarder from Finland will impress you with her skateboarding tricks - something uncommon among people above 50 years old.

According to Lena, happiness is being herself. She skateboards on the streets of Helsinki without worries about being judged. Lina is passionate about skating, and Helsinki offers a perfect setting for her. Fellow skaters in Finland welcomed her warmly to the community when she started skating. She owns several longboards which include one for sliding, one for downhill, and one for cruising. She also has a surfskate and her favorite fish shape for doing her tricks.

Lina began skateboarding when she was 61 years old. Before that, she had been longboarding since she was 57. At the age of 65, Lina was among the high-profile and oldest skateboarders in Finland. Her inspiration for skateboarding was because she used to bike to the Olympic Swimming Stadium in Helsinki and she thought her beautiful bike would be stolen in the swimming stadium. She quit riding and bought a longboard she could easily fit in the lockers.

Her passion for skateboarding has inspired people globally. Lina skateboards to work, loves graffiti, and sometimes teaches old and young people how to skateboard, encouraging them all to have fun. Lina is the admin of the Very Old Skateboarders Facebook group where she uses the platform to share her hobby worldwide and network with people. She loves talking in this group which encourages her to continue. 

Lina is a former sports journalist who has been around buys for many years. This explains why she excels well in a male-dominated sport. As a sports journalist, she mainly covered winter sports like alpine, ice hockey, snowboarding, freestyle skiing, and cross-country. She also covered American Football. She also swam in junior and adult categories at the national level. Lina specialized in backstroke and won a gold medal in the 4x100m medley relay.

Despite her age, the former sports journalist and swimmer swims not less than five times weekly all year long on outdoor swimming pools in the city or Baltic see. You will also find her on her skateboard on the streets of Helsinki defying gravity with her amazing turns and twists.