Cory Juneauis partway through his recent PEOPLE interview when he stumps the reporter.
The newly anointedOlympic bronze medalistin men’s park skateboarding has a go-to fast food spot. Guess, he says.
Juneau grew up in San Diego. Maybe In-N-Out?
Nah: “It’s Chick-fil-A, bro,” the 22-year-old says. “Chick-fil-A is myspot. So fire.”
So, his order. Does he hanker for the nuggets? The morning chicken biscuits?
“A No. 7,” he says, like he has it memorized. Which he does.
“It’s a grilled chicken club. It’s chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato, the basics,” he says, lapsing into a story. “Last time I went there, though, they forgot the chicken. I swear. I was like, ‘Yeah, you guys forgot your main ingredient.’ "
This is what it’s like to spend time with Juneau in the middle of the whirlwind of what his life has become now that he’s won an Olympic medal.
Speaking with PEOPLE in Tokyo right before he heads to the airport to return home, Juneau is ready to reflect on his third-place finish and his friendship with gold medal winner Keegan Palmer, of Australia.
He can talk about his confident series of runs in the final, which never saw him drop out of podium contention, and he’ll describe theGolden Goose sneakershe was wearing as he grinded and flipped in the skate park.
He’s just so — so chill, PEOPLE tells him. Juneau grins, gesturing over to the team’s coach, getting ready for a bit.
“He’s telling me, he’s like, ‘Dude, where’s your energy? You need some coffee, bro?’ Speak up.”
Has he always been like this?
“Yeah, pretty much. They call me the ‘sleepy turtle,’ my friends, " Juneau says. “It’s a nickname that stuck. I don’t know if they said it on the announcement at all, but they usually shout me out.”
On Thursday, right after he won bronze, Juneau told reporters: “Everyone says I look relaxed when I’m skating and they say I look like I’m not trying. And I assure you I am.”
Now he says, “I know what I like to do and what I’m comfortable with, so I just stuck to what I thought was best for me and just went with it.”
A highlight of his confident trio of final runs — which he says he had never performed that way before — was “a kickflip front center.”
He’ll explain: “You flip your board, don’t grab it and come back in the transition and that’s a trick I’m known for. And it’s risky, because even though you got them, you don’t ever know how your board is going to flip or if it’s going to stay to your feet.”
“And I made the first one, I was feeling good and I was just like, ‘I got to hold onto this run,’ " Juneau says of the final. “I blacked out for a minute. I was like, ‘I don’t know where I’m going.’ But I pulled it together and it worked out, so I’m stoked.”
Wait. Blacked out?
Just don’t get too carried away while you’re talking about it with him.
“Some parks suit some people better, and I think this one worked pretty good for me,” he says.
Next up, back home in California … is it any surprise: “Maybe go get some food, maybe a drink,” Juneau says. “Just chill. Lay down. I need some rest.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
