Horror plunge made me stronger, says record-breaking Olympian Brown, 13
Issued on: Britain s Sky Brown won bronze in the women s park competition Lionel BONAVENTURE AFP 3 min
Tokyo (AFP)
Skateboarder Sky Brown, 13, said a life-threatening accident only made her stronger as she became Britain s youngest Olympic medallist on Wednesday and set her sights on doubling up with surfing in 2024.
Brown, just 11 at the time, suffered skull fractures and a broken wrist and hand in June 2020 when she took off for an air and plunged into the gap between two half-pipes, landing on her head.
The Japan-born skater, who has said her helmet saved her life, was urged to give up the sport but just over a year later she claimed bronze as skateboarding makes its Olympic debut.
Adam PrettyGetty Images
Last summer, 13-year-old Team GB skateboarding phenom Sky Brown was attempting to leap between two curved vert ramps when her board shot from beneath her and she fell 15ft to the ground.
Brown landed head-first onto a concrete floor and was rushed to hospital. Her father, Stuart, says it was touch and go whether she would ever recover. But recover she did, and what was Brown s reaction? What did she do as she lay in a hospital bed with a fractured skull, a broken arm, broken fingers and a cracked tooth? She uploaded the footage to YouTube.
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Gold medalist, center, Sakura Yosozumi of Japan, silver medalist Kokona Hiraki of Japan, left, and bronze medalist, Sky Brown of Britain celebrate after the women’s park skateboarding finals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Aug. 4, in Tokyo. (AP Photo)
Teen skaters from Japan and Britain soared to victory in the women’s park competition on Wednesday, with hometown heroes Sakura Yosozumi and Kokona Hiraki cinching gold and silver, while Britain’s Sky Brown took bronze.
In the gripping finals, Yosozumi, 19, landed two 540s in her impressive first run, earning the highest score of 60.09 to vault to top place.
Hiraki, 12, consistently showed smooth runs throughout Wednesday’s competition and took second place with her best score of 59.04.