Regrets aren’t in Sky Brown’s DNA.
That is undoubtedly a good thing given she survived a near fatal skateboarding crash aged 11, fractured her skull at 12 and tore her knee at 15.
Looking forward fearlessly is Brown’s modus operandi and it has brought her two Olympic bronze medals, adding to her collection against all of the odds at Paris 2024.
Having dislocated her shoulder just days before the start of the Games, there was a collective intake of breath at Place de la Concorde when Brown fell on that same shoulder on the second run of qualification in the women’s park competition.
“Falling on my run in the prelims, it was definitely scary,” she recalls.
After receiving medical attention, Brown rose to register a score of 92.31 in the third and last run of the final to reach the podium.
Hiraki and Brown became the youngest athletes to ever win two medals at the Olympics.
Brown found a salve in the reassuring presence of a crowd, which she did not have on debut in Tokyo, and was driven by the knowledge that she was playing her part in pushing her beloved discipline to new heights.
“Just being part of this generation, this amazing group of girls, I’m really just happy,” said Brown. “I definitely wanted to get that gold medal for Team GB but I’m happy either way.
“Having to get (a medal) with an injury, definitely felt good.
“I kind of had to play it safe, I had more tricks I wanted to bring out of the bag. But honestly, this journey has been really crazy and really fun.
“I really feel like I got to show my skating and my style, before I wasn’t sure if I was even going to make it.
“My name popped up and the crowd was screaming for me, it really gave me a fire boost and made me want to push harder.”
Brown, crowned Britain’s first-ever skateboarding world champion in 2023, has felt her own level and the level of the game rise in the three years between her Olympic appearances.
“When I was in Tokyo, aged 13, I felt really powerful,” said Brown. “I felt on top of the world.
“I’m still learning, I’m learning so much every day and I’ve still got a lot to learn.
“I feel like since Tokyo, the level of this sport has changed so much and I’ve definitely grown as a skater and a person - maybe got a little taller too!
“Every event is making me stronger and stronger each day. All of the girls are pushing it to another level, Arisa and Coco, they are such beasts and really changing the game for women’s skateboarding.”
Brown has now been skating competitively for eight years and has not lost an iota of her love for what she does, experiencing it viscerally even in the powder keg atmosphere of the Olympics.
A passionate advocate for skateboarding, she believes inclusion in the Games has helped push her sport into new and exciting areas; it is now a staple in the programme and will feature again at LA 2028, Brown’s home city.
“Skateboarding, it’s the best feeling,” said Brown. “When you’re on the course and on the board, I’m just doing what I love, showing my style of it and how beautiful skateboarding is.
“The Olympics is the best stage to do it. I started competing at the Games to inspire and I feel like I can really do that. It’s not about the medals for me, it’s about the story.”
Sportsbeat 2024