Parkour pros compete in top tournament

WHAT started out as a made-up word has now turned into a prized competition where participants leap, jump and dive over obstacles. The Parkour World

Championship recently took place in Tokyo, Japan, where competitors swiftly jetted around an obstacle course using only their power and momentum, or speed, for a chance at taking home a top title and gold medal. The goal of parkour is to move from one place to another as quickly and efficiently as possible, using the abilities of the human body. This includes vaulting, rolling and using martial-arts-like skills to move over obstacles. The competition at Ariake Urban Sports Park was open to guys and girls who came from across the globe, including South Africa’s own Dominique D’Oliveira. Participants from as far afield as Mexico, Greece and Ukraine showed off their skills on the ground and in the air and their various routines involving speed, tricks and freestyle movement were scored by a panel of international judges. Parkour is a made-up French word which roughly translates to “route”. The activity first began in the

European country in the 1980s and was known to help with physical training like running, jumping, climbing and balancing. It eventually became widely known thanks to video clips that went viral.