- The 16-year-old also suffered an MCL injury in April ahead of this year’s Games
Sky Brown has won a bronze medal in the women’s skateboarding park event, three years after becoming Team GB‘s youngest-ever Olympian with the same medal in Tokyo.
The 16-year-old became the first British skateboarding world champion at last year’s World Skateboarding Championship in 2023, and on Tuesday afternoon added another medal to her trophy cabinet following a commanding performance at Place de la Concorde.
Brown had qualified fourth in the preliminary heats on Tuesday morning with a best score of 84.75, but left fans concerned after bailing on her final run and clutching her shoulder.
But cleared to compete in the final, Brown sped to silver medal contention with a first run of 80.57 – despite bailing on her last trick, just after the buzzer – and an even stronger second, garnering her a score of 91.60.
The teen then went even better in her final run, scoring a 92.31 to put her on the podium behind Australia’s Arisa Trew before Japan’s Cocona Hiraki pipped her to the silver with the last run of the final.
Brown’s success in Paris comes just one week after the teenager revealed that she had dislocated her shoulder in the run-up to the Games.
Team GB’s Sky Brown has won a bronze medal in the women’s skateboarding park event
Brown made Team GB history in 2021 when she won bronze to become their youngest athlete to medal at the Olympics
After finishing fourth in qualifying heats, Brown put in a command performance in Paris
This came just months after the teen tore her MCL during a film shoot in April which gave her a two-month recovery period to get back to full fitness.
Heart set on competing in the French capital, Brown has confirmed that she will undergo surgery on her shoulder after the competition, and competed with strapping to win her medal in Tuesday’s final.
Brown’s late stage injuries bear an eerie similarity to her preparation for the Tokyo Games, which saw the then 13-year-old fight back from suffering a life-threatening injury in training to compete in Japan.
The athlete plummeted 15 feet from a halfpipe ramp during practice, and was left with severe injuries including skull fractures, a broken left arm, broken fingers, and lacerations to her heart and lungs.
As per her father Stewart’s Instagram post after the accident, Brown was immediately taken to the ICU via helicopter ‘drifting in and out of consciousness’.
Brown shared an X-ray of her MCL injury in the months before the Games to her Instagram
The teenager previously suffered life-threatening injuries 14 months before competing in 2021
Back to full fitness, Brown went on to stun the world with her perfect third routine in Tokyo
Brown’s tour travel companion is her father Stewart, through whom she qualifies for Team GB
‘Her doctors and the trauma team say it’s a miracle how well she is dealing with the pain and recovering incredibly fast,’ Stewart wrote in a poignant caption on social media site.
‘They said it’s shocking and believe it’s because of her grit, positivity and attitude.’
14 months later, Brown claimed the history-making medal after nailing the third of her three routines, having failed in her opening two runs.
Brown’s turn in Tokyo saw her surpass the British record set by Margery Hinton, who was 13 years and 43 days old when she competed in Olympic swimming at the 1928 Games.
Her ferocious fightback through adversity saw her win 2021 Comeback of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards, and that same year named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.
Since her star-making turn in Tokyo, Brown has won every event she has entered, including retaining her 2022 X Games title and winning back-to-back Dew Tour events.
In the wake of victory in Japan, Brown won Comeback of the Year at the 2022 Laureus awards
The then-13-year-old was also named BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year in late 2021
On the heels of her Olympic bronze, Brown has won every event she has entered, including the 2023 World Championships in Sharjah (pictured)
‘Every injury I’ve had, I’ve come back stronger,’ Brown said in May during a nailbiting recovery spell. ‘So this is just my time to really think about what I want to do next. It really puts a fire in my heart, and yeah, it happens, it is part of life.’
On the heels of her meteoric rise, Brown – who was born in Japan but qualifies for Team GB through her British father – has attracted a huge following on social media, and the brand deals and sponsorships to match.
The teenager has a whopping 1.3million followers on Instagram and 2.3m on TikTok, where Brown has been sharing insider information on life in Paris – and the athlete’s Olympic village – since her arrival in France.
A Nike athlete, Brown also holds lucrative deals with Samsung, TAG Heuer, GoPro, and Claire’s, among other global brands.
As well as raising her profile through her ruthless competitive edge, she also won Dancing with the Stars: Juniors in the home country of the US, has previously released a music single, and written two books.
But ahead of competing on Tuesday, Brown struck a grounded note as she spoke to her followers ahead of the biggest day of her competitive year, stressing that she planned on giving it ‘1000%’ despite not being at full fitness.
Ahead of the start of their events, Brown has been taking in the scene in Paris with fellow team members Lola Tambling (second left) and Andy MacDonald (centre)
Brown returned to competition after her MCL injury with June’s Olympic Qualifier Series in Budapest in June
The teenager has stressed that she is not at full fitness on the heels of dislocating her shoulder
Brown splits her time between Japan – where her mother Mieko is from – and California, where she spends time not skateboarding surfing
‘Today is a big day, but it’s been an amazing journey and it’s so so special,’ Brown shared on her Instagram four hours before the skateboarding park heats. ‘Actually, just before flying out to I crashed hard and I dislocated my shoulder, thankfully and brought me to a hospital in Paris as soon as I landed and patched me up for the contest.
After this I will have to go and have surgery on my shoulder. So with this shoulder and my knee injury, unfortunately I am not 100%. As I wish I could’ve been for this contest.
‘But, it’s ok… I’m here, I’m alive, and I’m a skateboarder. and I WILL give it my 1000% today.
‘This for my country, for my friends and for my family. This is for the people I love and for EVERY single little girl that is watching me!!
‘This is for you guys. Be brave, have fun and do (it) cos you freakin LOVE IT!!!’
Ahead of Tuesday’s event, Brown also promised to put on an ‘amazing show’ and improve her prowess.
‘From now on we’re just try to progress and I’m gonna try to go higher, make my skateboarding more and more beautiful,’ Brown told Eurosport. ‘It’s going to be an amazing show. I’m really excited to show you guys what we’ve got.
‘Skateboarding, it’s a very special sport. You can do it anywhere. And when you do it, you know, you forget about everything. You just think about skateboarding and now and what you want to learn next. So I just want to share that to the world.’
As well as skateboarding, Brown had hoped to compete for Team GB in surfing events due to her aptitude in the sport.
The teenager had previously hoped to do the same in Tokyo, but was unable to do so at the delayed Games.
This year, Brown was the team’s second reserve after she came third in her heat at the ISA World Surfing Games in March, but failed to make it to Tahiti in her second sport.