Sky Brown

In Tokyo, aged 13 years and 28 days, she finished third in the women's park skateboard final to win a bronze medal, making her Britain's youngest ever Olympic medallist.

She suffered a skull fracture and broken left wrist and hand when she landed head first from a half-pipe in training in June 2020. She was unresponsive when she arrived at hospital, but recovered fully and was able to compete in the Olympics. She made mistakes in the first two of her three runs and was fourth going into her final run. However, she showed great maturity, landing a kickflip indy - the trick that caused her to fall in her first two attempts – for a score 56.47 to secure the bronze.

It’s awesome to be recognised for the Laureus Comeback of the Year and to be nominated with these amazing people: Tom Daley, Simone Biles. I look up to them so much. I am really happy and honoured.

sky brown

What Sky Brown said about winning the Comeback Award: “It’s awesome to be recognised for the Laureus Comeback of the Year and to be nominated with these amazing people: Tom Daley, Simone Biles. I look up to them so much. I am really happy and honoured.

“I don’t really have any memories from the accident. I don’t really remember it honestly. My dad saw it, he was filming, he saw everything and it was terrifying for him. My brother was actually skating behind and he saw everything from behind. My mom was actually in the car sleeping, while the helicopters and ambulance came.

“I knew the accident was really bad, but I just wanted to get back on my board. For my family it was really hard. Getting back on the skateboard for me was really, pretty easy. I was super excited. They didn’t want me to go back on the skateboard. But that’s what I love. And I just can’t stop.”

On winning the bronze medal in Tokyo: “For a long time they said you can’t go to the Olympics, it’s too much pressure, you’re really young. I asked a thousand times, almost every day I would ask them once and they would just say no. And then Team GB called me up and they said there was no pressure, just get out there, have fun, you can quit anytime you want. I said ‘come on you have to let me go now’. They said no a few times but I begged them for a while and they said yes. I know what they felt, but I needed to go. It was a dream.

“It was just an amazing experience. Falling twice! I am usually pretty consistent, but falling twice and then landing a trick just felt really good. I was just pretty mad. But my dad told me no contest will define you and gave me a hug and said ‘you can do it’ And I just felt this fire and said to myself ‘I’m going to stick this one’. Everyone was cheering and I was like OK I’m going to get this, and when I landed it was the best feeling ever. It feels crazy to get on the podium with your friends. Winning a medal in Tokyo and competing for Britain, I feel like it was perfect. I feel like I got to bring the countries together, and I love them both. It felt so perfect that it happened.

“Having a big platform, it just really gives me a responsibility to inspire and use the platform in a good way, to spread a good message and inspire. That’s my goal, that’s why I wanted to be in the Olympics. It feels really good to know that young girls are watching me. I just wanted to inspire and tell girls that everyone can do it and that they believe in themselves. When I go to the skate park and see girls in my helmet or riding my skateboard it makes me so happy.”

In sport having the mental strength to get back up after a fall or setback is the toughest hurdle, but it’s the grit shown in these times of adversity that marks out true champions. Being able to go again when something has hurt you is a sign of real bravery – or madness!

Christian Hosoi, skateboarder, announced Sky Brown as the winner this year

WHAT LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBERS SAY:

The greatest skateboard champion Tony Hawk says: “I think Sky has a very unique approach to skating, she is fearless in a way that is scary if you're an outsider, because she will try the bigger stuff and the stuff that is more dangerous. She took one of the most horrific crashes that would end most careers. I watched her, with great resolve say ‘I'm going to get back out there’, even when she was in the hospital. And then got out of the hospital almost a week early because she was so co-operative, and because she was so determined, and then get back on her skateboard. I'm not sure how long the duration was, but it only seemed like weeks later. And then she came back to a competition in September in Salt Lake City and she won it hands-down. She had the bronze medal in Tokyo, so she's on her way to great success.”

British Paralympic legend Tanni Grey-Thompson the Vice Chair of the Laureus Academy said: “Everyone was very excited about having skateboarding as part of the Olympic programme in terms of modernisation of the games and attracting new audiences. To come back from a fractured skull and to get back on a skateboard is amazing. It’s one of those sports that sometimes I think people don't realise how dangerous it can be, until you see some of the injuries that you know the skateboarders get. I'm really excited about it as a sport and where the Olympics is going to go in terms of bringing new exciting sports. And also the impact it can have on young women thinking ‘do you know what, skateboarding is the sport for me’.

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WHAT LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBERS SAY:

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Simone Biles

Tom Daley

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