News Two attempts, two falls, followed by a perfectly landed trick A single video lasting little over a minute completely changed the life of Rayssa Leal She was on her way back from an Brazilian Independence Day parade in her home town of Imperatriz, dressed in a fairy costume made by her grandmother, when she came across some of her friends at the local skate park Swapping her shoes for her trainers, Rayssa bailed twice on her skateboard before nailing the perfect heel-flip while her dad recorded the moment on his smartphone After he posted the video on YouTube, it took just hours for the video to reach a million shares and win praise from the likes of skateboarding legends Tony Hawk and Bob Burnquist and DJ David Guetta A viral sensation overnight, in her home country Rayssa became known as the Fadinha do Skate or the Little Fairy Skateboarder, becoming a symbol for young female empowerment thanks to her perseverance and attitude Click to go to David Guetta's Facebook post At eight years old, the mini Brazilian street skate champion came very close to breaking another record: the youngest Brazilian to carry the Olympic flame But as she is not yet 12, the age required to become a torchbearer, her father Haroldo Leal carried the torch to represent her at the torch relay in Imperatriz this Tuesday (14 June) Before her father’s leg of the relay, Rayssa showed off some of her tricks and posed for a few photos with the torch   “We really wanted her to carry the Olympic flame and break more new ground, as a girl and the youngest athlete to represent the country in skateboarding," her father said "I’ll carry the torch representing my daughter, a little sad that it’s not her, but this will go down in history ” “For our part we are grateful for the opportunity and hope to see her carry the torch in the future,” he added, looking forward to the possible inclusion of skateboarding in the Olympic Games “I wonder if in Tokyo, at 12 years old, she’ll be able to compete?”   Rayssa learnt how to skate on her own From the age of five, she studied videos dedicated to the sport on YouTube After her video went viral (her family estimates there over 60 million views the world over), the little skater was invited to meet various skating idols, including her favourite, Brazilian female skater Letícia Bufoni Thanks to her popularity, she was able to raise funds to renovate her local skate park, which is a training ground for about 300 skaters in Imperatriz Rayssa continues to train independently, three hours a day, at the same skate park “She doesn’t have a coach or a set timetable We head over to the skate park whenever it’s not so hot, around six in the evening,” her father says Click here for Rayssa's original video on Facebook “My biggest dream was to meet Letícia Bufoni, I cried so much when we met I asked her the trick to pulling off a 360º flip I still haven’t managed to do it!” she says with a sparkle in her eye “My other dream is to become a professional ” Participating at the Olympic Games is also on her to-do list, if skateboarding does one day become an Olympic sport, as well as an official Olympic torchbearer Whatever the future holds in store for her, there will be no shortage of fans cheering her on around the world