FENWICK, Ont. — When Fay DeFazio Ebert finally got her moment on the Olympic stage, her extended family in Fenwick were on pins and needles.
“It was stressful,” Marilyn Ebert said with a laugh, recounting getting up extra early on Tuesday morning so she and husband, Harry, could watch their granddaughter compete in the women’s skateboarding park competition. “I got nervous for her. We just wanted her to do well.”
In her third and final run on Tuesday, De Fazio Ebert scored a 51.82, with a late fall ending her chances of advancing to the eight-skater final. That third run was an improvement over her previous two, which saw her open with an 18.66 and then post a 30.00 in her second go.
While she fell short of making it into the final round, DeFazio Ebert told Jamie Tozer of Olympics.ca that she was choosing to look at the positives.
“It’s like a mixed emotion. I’m so happy that I’m here and I got to experience all this,” she said. “I didn’t put down my run, but I tried my best. I’m really excited that everyone is here supporting me. I see all those Canadian flags. It’s really amazing.”
But Marilyn, meanwhile, could see her granddaughter was nervous about being on such a large stage. It was different from when she competed – and won gold – at the 2023 PanAm Games in Santiago, Chile.
“She looked a little stressed,” she said. “It must have been pretty overwhelming being away from home and on that big a stage. (At the PanAms) she looked relaxed but (on Tuesday) she looked a little tense.”
Needless to say, they were thrilled to have witnessed Fay’s Olympic debut.
“We’re very proud of her,” Marilyn said. “Our family wants to sincerely thank everyone for their interest and positive support of Fay during her Olympic journey.”
DeFazio Ebert was Canada’s lone entrant in the women’s skateboard competition at the Games, while on the men’s side Canada was represented by Miles Berger of Kamloops, B.C., Ryan Decenzo of Delta, B.C., and Cordano Russell of London, Ont.
At 14 years old, DeFazio Ebert is the youngest member of Canada’s 388-member Olympic team and the country’s youngest Olympian since swimmer Barbara Hounsell in competed in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.
However, she was not the youngest competitor in the skateboarding competition. That honour went to China’s Zheng Haohao, who is 11.