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Fans rejoice as Sky Brown becomes the youngest Olympic medallist in British history

Fans rejoice as Sky Brown becomes the youngest Olympic medallist in British history

13-year-old Sky Brown has made history after winning bronze in the first-ever women’s park skateboarding event, making her the youngest ever medallist in Team GB history.

In a remarkable finish at the Ariake Urban Arena in Tokyo, Brown kick flipped her way into the history books by posting a score of 56.47 in her third and final attempt (she had fallen during her first two runs) to come in behind Sakura Yosozumi and her 12-year-old Japanese counterpart Kokona Hiraki.

Yosozumi, 19, topped the podium with a score of 60.09, while Hiraki’s 59.04 proved enough for her to claim silver – eclipsing Brown to become the youngest Olympic medallist in 85 years. Astonishingly, this gave the podium an average age of just 14.

The bronze medal continues Brown’s rapid rise to the top. She finished third at the 2019 World Skateboarding Championship, and the following year she effectively secured her Olympic qualification by picking up a bronze medal at the Park World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Last month, Brown, who has a Japanese mother and British father, warmed up for the Games by winning gold in the prestigious X Games, although neither of her key Olympic challengers, Okamoto and Hiraki, were present.

Brown had been tipped to be one of the stars of this Olympics and, although she couldn’t win the gold, her bronze medal has still earned her a lot of fans who were delighted to see her land on the podium on Wednesday.

There was an amazing act of solidarity too for Japan’s Misugu Okamoto, who finished fourth in the competition after Brown was able to complete her final run.

Brown, who also speaks Japanese, also helped translate for gold medallist Yosozumi during English television interviews. What a hero!

Well done to all the young medallists in the women’s skateboarding (the street event also saw 13-year-olds Momiji Nishiya and Rayssa Leal also win gold and silver respectively). Just teenagers and they already have the whole world at their feet.

We can’t wait to see what they do next.

tokyo olympicsteam gbolympics 2021britishtokyosky brown
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