London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Feb 13, 2026

GB's Sky Brown eyes surfing at Paris 2024

GB's Sky Brown eyes surfing at Paris 2024

After making history by becoming Great Britain's youngest Olympic medal winner of all time, skateboarder Sky Brown is already plotting her next move - in surfing.

The 13-year-old claimed bronze in the inaugural women's park final in Tokyo, and immediately raised the prospect of competing in two sports at Paris 2024.

Her father, Stu, revealed he dissuaded his daughter from trying to compete in surfing as well as skateboarding in Tokyo, but admits he may be powerless to stop her again.

"It'll be up to her by then. She'll be 16, and it's hard enough now," he joked.

Sky goes surfing most days before school and has competed at junior levels, finishing second in an aerial surfing invitational in Texas.

There could be one issue making it challenging for Sky to realise her ambition - the surfing is due to be held in Tahiti, nearly 10,000 miles from the French capital where the skateboarding will take place.

The Sky's the limit

Sky often gets up at 5am to surf with her younger brother Ocean

Having never had a skateboarding coach, Sky learns most of her tricks from watching YouTube videos, and her natural sporting talent appears to transfer to the water.

Sky, who splits her time between the United States and Japan, often takes advantage of the Californian climate and surfs with her dad, and brother Ocean.

When asked whether it was possible to compete in both events in 2024, she said: "Maybe. I really hope so - I'm definitely going to try [to compete in] surfing.

"I'm going to go surf a lot after here. I'm excited to see my brother again."

But that's for 2024. For now, Sky says she is living a "dream" after skateboarding success at Tokyo 2020. It's been quite the journey.

The comeback kid


Warning: external video from Sky's Instagram account contains footage some viewers may find distressing.


If the Games were held in 2020, it's highly unlikely Sky would have been fit to compete in Tokyo.

Stu said his daughter was "lucky to be alive" after crashing last May between two ramps while attempting a jump in training, fracturing her skull, breaking her left arm and wrist, and suffering lacerations to her heart and lungs.

Her parents wanted her to stop skating but she said: "This will not stop me. I am going for gold in Tokyo 2021."

In June a video was posted on her Instagram showing the moment she lost control at the top of a ramp. It cut away before the fall to a shot of an air ambulance, followed by a message to her followers from her hospital bed, black eye, arm in a cast.

Nothing is normal for this incredibly talented 13-year-old but perhaps this video, which has more than two million views, underlines just how different her life is.

Sky also tumbled before her Olympic qualifier, breaking her arm, but still came first while wearing a protective cast.

She breezed into Wednesday's final in Tokyo, making light work of her heat with the second-highest score.

It was a nervy start as she fell in her first two runs, putting her fourth going into her last effort - which she admitted she wasn't expecting.

"I thought I was gonna get it. I was a little shocked after the first run. Then after the second fall, I was like, 'Am I gonna make it?'

"Sakura [Yosozumi, Japan's gold medal winner] told me: 'You got it, Sky. We know you're gonna make it'. That really made me feel better."

Words of encouragement from her dad also helped.

"He was like: 'You know, it's just a contest. It doesn't define you.' That made me feel better - it is just a contest and if you fall, that's what it is," added Sky.

The teenager, who celebrated her 13th birthday just 16 days before the opening ceremony in Tokyo, showed incredible composure to get a clean final run and complete the kickflip indy - the trick that wiped her out in her first two attempts - to seal the bronze with a score of 56.47.

'I believed in myself'
Aged 13 years and 28 days, Sky Brown has also broken Margery Hinton's 93-year-old record to become the youngest athlete to represent Team GB at a summer Games


Sky, who was born a month before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, speaks incredibly maturely for a teenager. After finishing on the podium said she hoped more young girls would follow in her footsteps.

"I really hope I inspire young girls. I feel like people aren't too young that they can't do it, but if you believe in yourself you can do anything. I believed in myself," she said.

"Anyone can do skateboarding. You don't have to be of a certain height or have to be a certain age - you can do it whenever you want. You've just got to skate and go for it."

Sky Brown facts


*  Sky's dad Stu is English, but he moved to the United States in his teens. He and Sky's mum Mieko met in Japan, where both Mieko and Sky were born and the family - which also includes Sky's brother Ocean - are now based.

*  Skateboarding runs in the family; Stu first introduced his daughter to the sport while competing as an amateur, alongside his work in marketing.

*  Her skateboarding commitments - her first Olympic qualifier was in Long Beach when she was 10 - mean she splits her time between California and Miyazaki.

*  Because her sporting career is so hectic and requires so much travel, Sky only attends school - in Orange County - twice a week and tops up her learning online.

*  Sky also loves dancing and singing, and in 2018 turned down a place at the X Games to focus on the the junior edition of Dancing with the Stars - the US version of Strictly Come Dancing - which she won.

*  Sky holds a number of sponsorship contracts, and was snapped up by Nike after turning professional in 2018 at the age of 10, becoming their youngest athlete.

*  Stu says they chose Team GB rather than Japan because of the laid-back approach of Skateboard GB chair Lucy Adams, which matched their feelings about how to develop their daughter's talents.

'A crazy achievement' - the reaction





Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Green Party Considering Proposal to Legalize Heroin for an Inclusive Society
SpaceX's New Vision: Lunar City Takes Precedence Over Mars Colonization
OpenAI and DeepCent Superintelligence Race: Artificial General Intelligence and AI Agents as a National Security Arms Race
Document Suggests Prince Andrew Shared UK Briefing on Afghan Investment Opportunities with Jeffrey Epstein
We will protect them from the digital Wild West.’ Another country will ban social media for under-16s
McDonald's Shortens Breakfast Hours in Australia Due to Egg Shortage
Heineken announces cut of 6,000 jobs due to declining beer demand
Beijing Brands UK Hong Kong Visa Expansion ‘Despicable and Reprehensible’ After Jimmy Lai Sentencing
Tesco Chief Warns UK Is ‘Sleepwalking’ Toward a Joblessness Crisis
Trump’s ‘Act of Great Stupidity’ Comment on UK Chagos Deal Reverberates Through Diplomacy and Strategy
New U.S. filings say Jeffrey Epstein repaid Les Wexner one hundred million dollars after theft allegation
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledges 2012 visit to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island as lawmakers scrutinise past ties
Helsing and Stark Defence loitering-munition drones and Germany’s race to industrialise battlefield autonomy
UK orders deletion of Courtsdesk court-data archive, reigniting the fight over who controls public justice records
UK Police Review Fresh Claims Involving Prince Andrew as Senior Royals Respond to Epstein Files
Keir Starmer’s Premiership Faces Unprecedented Strain as Epstein Fallout Deepens
Starmer Vows to Stay in Office as UK Government Faces Turmoil After Epstein Fallout
China and UK Signal Tentative Reset with Commitment to Steadier, Professionally Managed Relations
UK Confirms Imminent Increase in ETA Fee to £20 as Entry Rules Tighten
UK Signals Possible Seizure of Russia-Linked ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker in Escalation of Sanctions Enforcement
Epstein Scandal Piles Unprecedented Pressure on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Leadership
UK’s ‘Most Romantic Village’ Celebrates Valentine’s Day and Explores the Festival’s Rich History
The Implications of Expanding Voting Rights to Non-EU Foreign Residents in France
Ghislaine Maxwell to Testify Before US Congress on February 9
Al.com Acquired by Crypto.com Founder for $70 Million
Apple iPhone Lockdown Mode blocks FBI data access in journalist device seizure
Belgium: Man Charged with Rape After Faking Payment to Sex Worker
KPMG Urges Auditor to Relay AI Cost Savings
US and Iran to Begin Nuclear Talks in Oman
Winklevoss-Led Gemini to Slash a Quarter of Jobs and Exit European and Australian Markets
Canada Opens First Consulate in Greenland Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions
China unveils plans for a 'Death Star' capable of launching missile strikes from space
NASA allows astronauts to take smartphones on upcoming missions to capture special moments.
Trump administration to launch TrumpRx.gov for direct drug purchases
Investigation Launched at Winter Olympics Over Ski Jumpers Injecting Hyaluronic Acid
U.S. State Department Issues Urgent Travel Warning for Citizens to Leave Iran Immediately
Wall Street Erases All Gains of 2026; Bitcoin Plummets 14% to $63,000
Epstein Case Documents Reignite Global Scrutiny of Political and Business Elites
Eighty-one-year-old man in the United States fatally shoots Uber driver after scam threat
UK Royal Family Faces Intensifying Strain as Epstein-Linked Revelations Rock the Institution
Political Censorship: French Prosecutors Raid Musk’s X Offices in Paris
AI Invented “Hot Springs” — Tourists Arrived and Were Shocked
Tech Mega-Donors Power Trump-Aligned Fundraising Surge to $429 Million Ahead of 2026 Midterms
UK Pharma Watchdog Rules Sanofi Breached Industry Code With RSV Vaccine Claims Against Pfizer
Melania Documentary Opens Modestly in UK with Mixed Global Box Office Performance
Starmer Arrives in Shanghai to Promote British Trade and Investment
Harry Styles, Anthony Joshua and Premier League Stars Among UK’s Top Taxpayers
New Epstein Files Include Images of Former Prince Andrew Kneeling Over Unidentified Woman
Starmer Urges Former Prince Andrew to Testify Before US Congress About Epstein Ties
Starmer Extends Invitation to Japan’s Prime Minister After Strategic Tokyo Talks
×