Sky Brown already eyeing LA after winning second Olympic bronze

Skateboarding 06 Aug 24

In some ways, Sky Brown is like any other 16-year-old – she is desperate to pass her driving test for more independence and she is playing catch-up on schoolwork.

Of course, the difference between Sky Brown and every other 16-year-old on the planet is that she is a double Olympic medallist.

Three years on from capturing the hearts of a nation when she won women’s park skateboarding bronze in Tokyo at 13, Brown, the youngest athlete representing Team GB once again in 2024, repeated the feat at Place de la Concorde in Paris.

This is a young person’s sport. Having turned 16 a month ago, Brown was the oldest person on the podium, as Japan’s Kokona Hiraki, 15, again took silver, while Australia’s Arisa Trew, 14, took the gold.

Brown and Hiraki are the youngest-ever athletes to win medals at two Olympics, and already Brown is plotting her path to Los Angeles in four years’ time – to compete in both skateboarding and surfing, having been denied that opportunity in Paris with the latter events taking place thousands of miles away in Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean.

She said: “I am a double Olympic medallist. It’s really cool and I’m very happy. When I go to LA I’m hoping to be a double Olympian there in surfing and skating. Every time I lose I learn and I learn a lot every day and I can bring that to LA.

“I have some school work to do. I can get my driver’s licence in America. I miss surfing right now so I’m hoping into the water straight away. I need to get a shoulder surgery but hopefully that won’t take too long.”

The other date on Brown’s schedule is a date with a surgeon, with an operation required on her left shoulder.

She had dislocated it just before heading out to Paris, but was determined to compete at her second Games regardless.

When she crashed down hard at the end of her third run in prelims on Tuesday morning, there were inevitable questions over whether she would even be able to take part in the final a couple of hours later.

But in skateboarding injury is part of the deal. Brown recovered from a fractured skull and broken wrist a year out from Tokyo, she knows what it takes to perform through the pain. Even earlier this year she had to deal with a torn medial collateral ligament which has disrupted her preparation.

Here, she was clearly in quite a lot of pain, to the point that she even adjusted her plans for the final.

And still, she nearly did enough for gold. Improving with each run, Brown wowed the crowd with a kickflip Indy over the volcano getting the loudest cheer.

Her best score of 92.31 put her into silver medal position behind Trew on 93.18. Hiraki then laid down a score of 92.63 to bump Brown down to bronze.

Considering how much she had been through just to compete, that was only a minor disappointment.

She said: “I feel like this made my story. Having really hard times with injuries, missing one spot on events, not some fun times but I’m so happy just to be back on the Olympic stage, having the crowd cheer me on, cheering all of us on and really hyping us up was really cool.

“Getting back on the podium, I mean getting on the podium at all is just sick. I definitely wanted more.

“I felt the adrenaline and I was just hyped up, I didn’t even think about the pain. It was a weird pain, I was shocked. It felt throbby sore but I’m just happy to be here.”

The fall in the prelims saw Brown undergo some intensive physio to be ready to go again in the final.

And her father, Stuart, made sure that she did not put that shoulder at more serious danger with her runs in the final.

She explained: “I wanted to bring out another few tricks but my dad didn’t want me to. He wanted me to play a little safe and make sure I didn’t hurt myself even more. I did the best I could do.”

Even with her limitations, Brown’s best was special. Now she can focus on the more mundane activities of most 16-year-olds.

Sportsbeat 2024

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