Tokyo Olympics: Skateboarder Sky Brown finishes second in Games qualifier, almost a year after suffering life-threatening injuries
Sky Brown finished second behind Japan's Sakura Yosozumi in the women's Park event at the Dew Tour in Iowa; the 12-year-old underwent surgery for skull fractures and a broken wrist and hand in June last year after falling from a ramp
By Reuters
Last Updated: 24/05/21 10:11am
Skateboarder Sky Brown, who is hoping to become Britain's youngest Summer Olympian, finished second in a Tokyo Games qualifier on Sunday almost a year after the 12-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries in a training fall.
Brown underwent surgery for skull fractures and a broken wrist and hand after falling from a ramp in California in June last year.
Born to a Japanese mother and a British father, Brown finished second behind Japan's Sakura Yosozumi in the women's Park event at the Dew Tour in Iowa.
Brown, who twice attempted a frontside rodeo 540 trick but failed both times, said she was not anxious about competing at the Tokyo Games taking place between July 23 and August 8, where skateboarding will make its Olympic debut.
"I definitely want to do both my 5s (540 tricks) in the Olympics and maybe get on the podium, but really I'm just having fun skateboarding," Brown said.
"I'm always wonderfully surprised to see where it takes me. So, I'm not too stressed about the Olympics. I just want to see what happens and enjoy the journey."
The women's Park event at the Olympics will have 20 athletes - three from the world championships, 16 from the Olympic World Skate rankings and one from host nation Japan.
Brown hopes to replace swimmer Margery Hinton as Britain's youngest Summer Olympian. Hinton was 13 years and 43 days old when she competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.
Cecilia Colledge remains Britain's youngest Olympian, the figure skater competing at the 1932 Winter Olympics aged 11.
