Olympics-Level Skateboarding Isn't All 13-Year-Old Sky Brown Can Do

by 24USATVAug. 4, 2021, noon 55
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Olympics-Level Skateboarding Isn't All 13-Year-Old Sky Brown Can Do

Skateboarding's youngest Olympian is 13-year-old Brit Sky Brown. Not only is she a skater, she's been on "Dancing with the Stars," recorded a song and music video, and wrote a book about girl power.

One of the youngest athletes at the Tokyo Olympics is a 13-year-old girl who lives in both California and Japan. Her mother is from Japan. And she's representing her father's country, Great Britain. As NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports, she competes today in the Olympics' first ever park skateboarding event.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Sky Brown is adorable in her cute skating outfits, always riding her skateboard with a big smile on her face.

SKY BROWN: For me, it feels like I'm flying in the sky. I want to go as high as I can. Hi. My name is Sky Brown, and I like to skate and surf.

DEL BARCO: She just celebrated her 13th birthday, and, as she tells her online fans, she's skated and surfed since she was 3. When she was 10, she and her ballroom dancing partner were crowned the first winners of TV's "Dancing With The Stars: Junior" (ph).

DEL BARCO: Sky and her little brother, Ocean, have a popular YouTube channel, Sky & Ocean.

S BROWN: We can skate, maybe TikTok, maybe jump in the pool and east some sushi.

DEL BARCO: Sometimes she vlogs about new tricks, like the 100-foot mega ramp she jumped with skateboard legend Tony Hawk cheering her on.

ATIBA JEFFERSON: She's just someone who really loves skating. She's very focused. I've seen her be nothing but polite and nice.

DEL BARCO: Atiba Jefferson is a staff photographer for Thrasher, the premier magazine for and by skateboarders. Here in Tokyo, Jefferson has been photographing her as she preps for the Olympics.

JEFFERSON: She's doing Frontside 540s, spinning in the air 540 degrees. And that's amazing. You know, I've watched all the skaters practice over the last four days. And, you know, I would be surprised if she's not on the podium.

DEL BARCO: At the Tokyo Olympics, two other 13-year-old girls from Japan and Brazil won medals in the street skateboarding event. Jefferson says being so young and small is an advantage for Sky as a skateboarder in the park competition, doing midair tricks, flips and rotations in an outdoor concrete course.

JEFFERSON: You're catching air, and you're learning speed. You are a lot more resilient when you fall, and it doesn't hurt as much if you're only 100 pounds.

DEL BARCO: But last summer, during a practice session, Sky had a big fall - 15 feet off the side of a vertical ramp. She crashed down on to flat concrete and was unresponsive at first.

DEL BARCO: Sky fractured her skull, lacerated her lung and broke her left wrist and hand. From her hospital bed, with a black eye and cast on her arm, she recorded an Instagram message.

S BROWN: I don't usually post my falls or talk about them because I want people to see the fun in what I do. And I just want everyone to know that it's OK. Don't worry. I'm OK. It's OK to fall sometimes. And I'm just going to get back up and push even harder.

DEL BARCO: Sky says she wants to use her platform to empower young girls.

S BROWN: I want to push boundaries and show that I can do what boys can do, and you can do it, too.

DEL BARCO: She wrote a book filled with similar advice, and she even recorded a song and music video called "Girl."

S BROWN: (Singing) They know I'm fast on my feet. Gravity got nothing on me. Take a look, got my lip gloss on. Ride or die, I've got to be strong. Got to be fast, got to be tough, be brave and do what I love. I don't mind if people stare. No one going to stop me. I don't care.

DEL BARCO: Singing, dancing, surfing, skateboarding in the Olympics - it seems the sky's the limit for Sky Brown.

S BROWN: (Singing) I can be gritty and shake up the world. I can do anything. Yup. I'm a girl. I'm a girl. I'm a girl, girl, girl. I'm a girl.

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