Skateboarding's first Saint?

Five years ago Spanish skateboarder Ignacio Echeverría found himself in the midst of the London Bridge terror attack with his board. Rather than take the wholly understandable and justified option of using his board to get the hell out of there, he chose to use it to fight back at the terrorists and protect others around him. I didn't know Ignacio, but from what I've learned about him since (partly through this Vice documentary by Really Stoked pal Tim Crawley) his actions that night were consistent with how he lived his life.

This article in The  Guardian details how his family and church are recommending him to be considered for a sainthood. Whether you're religious or not (and Ignacio apparently was) the significance of being made a saint won't be lost on any of us. I don't exactly know what the criteria for sainthood is, but this would be an incredible acknowledgement of the kind of person you would have to be to do what he did on that night in 2017.

He was clearly an exceptional person. He did an incredibly brave thing, ultimately laying down his life to protect others. The only connection I have with him is that we're skaters, but that's enough for me. I'm proud that we have been able to count him amongst us. And, although I'm not a Catholic,  I would be immensely proud if the Catholic church also recognised a fellow skater for the decisions he made that night and the man he had to be to make them.