Words by Smiley Team
She’s an absolute machine on a skateboard, and today, Sky Brown made history by becoming Great Britain’s youngest ever Olympic medallist. Having only turned 13 a month ago, Sky managed to finish third in the women’s skateboarding final.
“This is incredible, it feels unreal,” she said, after the win. “I’m so happy to be here. I’m blessed.”
Sky came after Sakura Yosozumi, 19, from Japan, who took gold in the final, and Kokona Kiraki, 12, also from Japan, who took silver.
[Read More: 12-year-old disabled child saves activity centre]
Sky’s dad, Stu, is English, but he moved to America when he was a teenager. He met her mum, Mieko, in Japan – where the family now live, splitting their time between the US and there.
It wasn’t a shock Sky took up skateboarding as a child, as the sport runs in her family. She went viral at the age of four, when her dad posted a video of her on Facebook.
Still, she’s never had a skateboarding coach, she says, and learns all her tricks from YouTube. She turned professional at 10 and became Nike's youngest athlete. And then at 11, Sky became the first female skater to land a frontside 540 at the X Games.
But Sky's journey to the Olympics wasn’t an easy one. In fact, some say she’s “lucky to be alive” after she had a bad fall in May 2020 during training. If the Olympics went ahead as planned, rather than being delayed by the pandemic, she would never have been able to compete.
Her injury happened when she crashed between two ramps during an attempt to jump. She fractured her skull, broke her left arm and wrist, and suffered lacerations to her heart and lungs.
Writing on Instagram after the fall, she said: “I know a lot of people are worried about me, but don’t worry, I’m okay. I’m excited to come back even stronger and even tougher. My heart wants to go so hard right now, I’m just waiting for my body to catch up.”
[Read More: 7 inspirational stories from the Olympics]
Sky gives back, too. She works with Skateistan, a charity that teaches skateboarding in impoverished areas. As part of her work for the charity, she’s designed a custom board where 10 dollars of every sale goes towards supporting children in the programme.
Overall, she’s donated $20,000 dollars in proceeds. And let’s remember: she’s only just turned 13.
What an inspiration.
Image credit: Jon Nicholls Photography / Shutterstock
