Team GB’s history maker! 13-year-old Skye Brown – Britain’s youngest ever Olympian – claims a bronze medal in park skateboarding after scoring the perfect final under heavy pressure on her debut in Tokyo
British skateboarder Sky Brown made history for Team GB after collecting a bronze medal in park skateboarding – arguably the stand-out moment of the Olympics so far.
After cruising through qualifying after showing no sign of nerves, Brown had it all in his final run in Tokyo.
With Britain in fourth place after struggling on his opening two runs, Brown pulled off a remarkably perfect run to leap into medal position, which he duly captured.
13-year-old Skye Brown creates history by winning bronze at Park Skateboarding in Tokyo
Brown reacts after sealing history by scoring a huge final in Tokyo on Wednesday
Brown (R) celebrates with gold medalist Sakura Yosozumi (C) and silver medalist Kokono Hiraaki (L)
But the 13-year-old can’t believe it after scoring the perfect final run under pressure
Brown, 13, turned her planned run down to such perfection that she was at the top of the qualifying position before the final round heats.
Japan’s Misugu Okamoto then scored her third major goal, which was the best in qualifying. It looks like 13-year-old Brown and Okamoto will be the two fighting for gold.
Despite the scorching heat here, Brown looked cool as she got ready for her run. It is the hottest day of the Tokyo Olympics with a temperature at the Ariake Urban Sports Park of 33 degrees Celsius with 90 percent humidity.
Brown’s routine includes his signature ‘Frontside 540’, which includes one and a half spins. His ability to bend over and over again – ‘corking it out’ as the game is known – also kept him well off the field in his heat.
After seeing several riders go before his fall, Brown’s first run was impeccable. But it was in the second that she managed to attain the optimum height – rising above the track to post a score of 57.40. With her qualifying ensured, she went easy in the third round of her heat, seemingly having preserved her nerves for the final.
However, world number one Okamoto lowered the score to ‘540’ early in her first run of the heats. But it was in the third round of her heat that she overtook the Browns. Both will finish last in what appears to be a dramatic conclusion to this new Olympic event.
Even though Brown may not have won gold, she will be the youngest individual medalist in 85 years. At 13 years and 28 days old, she will be the youngest since Denmark’s Inge Sorensen, who was 12 years and 24 days old when she won the bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke in 1936.
Skye Brown, aged only 13, shows no sign of nerves on her Olympic debut in Tokyo
Team GB’s teen star hugs France’s Madeleine Larcheron during the heat on Wednesday
The gold medal won by an Olympian younger than Brown is a mystery. was a seven-year-old French boy who competed as a coxswain for the Dutch coxed pair rowing team at the 1900 Olympics.
After qualifying for the final, Brown told the BBC: ‘He was crazy. this is insane. It’s crazy to be here and it’s been really fun skating with all the girls.
‘Everyone is tearing up. It’s great, it’s great to be here. I didn’t think about the score. But I’m really stuck on that score. Very shocked I have a few more tricks but I am just going to enjoy the time I am in the Olympics.
The other Briton, Bombet Martin, did not reach the final after finishing 18th in qualifying. He said: ‘I thought my first run was great, but I don’t think the judges did.’ She said she wanted to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics for Team GB when she would still not be 18.
Brown qualified for the finals of the park with one run remaining in skateboarding gold.
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