Crown Heights' Sablone Places 4th In Olympic Street Skateboarding

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Crown Heights resident Alexis Sablone came close to winning a medal in the Olympics' first street skateboarding competition, placing fourth in Sunday's event.

In her Olympic debut, Sablone, 34, earned a score of 13.57 – less than a point behind the bronze winner, Funa Nakayama of Japan, who was awarded a 14.49.

Sablone told PEOPLE that she "can't really believe" it and that "part of it just feels like another contest."

"Like, I've been here, I've seen these people – we've skated together before, and then there's that part of my brain, like going crazy, thinking like 'This is history, this is the first Olympics,'" Sablone told PEOPLE. "I can't believe I'm here. ... It feels historic, everything just kind of feels like the stakes are higher and I can't really believe I'm here."

Sablone, a native of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, began skateboarding competitively at age 12, PEOPLE reported. She went pro in 2018.

Since then, she's earned seven X Games medals – three gold, two silver, and two bronze – and took second place at the USA Skateboarding National Championships, according to the New York Post.

Outside of skateboarding, Sablone works as a designer and visual artist, the New York Post reported. She is a graduate of Barnard College and holds a master's degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.