13 February 2023 , 06:59
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Britain’s Olympic bronze medallist, Sky Brown, has become a skateboarding world champion at the age of 14.
She won gold in park skateboarding at the world championships in Sharjah on Sunday with a best score of 90.83 from her three runs. The teenager was already top of the standings with a score of 89.63 from her second run, but saved her best until last to finish more than four points ahead of Japan’s Kokona Hiraki.
Olympic champion Sakura Yosozumi, also from Japan, took bronze with Team GB's Lola Tambling finishing sixth with 81.53 points. “Being on the podium with these guys again is so crazy,” Brown told Sky Sports. “It’s just been really fun. I was trying to enjoy it as much as I could. Landing all three of my runs was an amazing feeling.”
Brown became Britain’s youngest ever Olympic medal winner when she won park bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Games at the age of 13. Born in Miyazaki, Japan, to a Japanese mother and British father, Brown competed at the US Open in 2016 at the age of eight, and elected to compete for Great Britain in 2018.
Skateboarding was one of four new sports added to the Olympics in 2020, with events held in both “park” and “street” categories of the sport. As well as becoming the world champion, Brown takes maximum points towards qualification for the Paris Olympic Games which start on July 26, 2024.
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Brown's triumph saw her add the world title to an impressive list of victories, such as at last year's Summer X Games and Dew Tour. The 14-year-old went on to say: "I'm so stoked to be in this position. I'm so thankful for everything, having an amazing support, having all my supporters just cheer me on all the time giving me the best fire ever. I'm just thankful to have the people around me and thankful to be here."
Sky Brown won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games when she was just 13 (Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)Have your say! Will Brown go on to win gold at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games? Join the debate in the comments section.
Brown also congratulated her fellow Team GB member, Cornwall-born prodigy Tambling, on finishing sixth. "Oh my god, I am so proud of her," she beamed. "She used a bunch of things not many other girls use and I was just so stoked for her you know and Team GB - it was really sick."
Skateboard GB CEO James Hope-Gill added: "We are hugely proud of Sky and Lola’s achievements at these World Championships. Both skaters have amazed us with their talent and their positions put them in a great place for the rest of the Olympic qualifying season."