Sky’s the Limit: Britain’s Youngest Ever Olympic Medallist Has a Million Followers on Instagram
09:29 GMT 04.08.2021 (Updated: 15:15 GMT 28.05.2023)
© Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich
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Team GB’s Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre clinched gold in the sailing and Ben Whittaker got a silver in the boxing at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. But the headlines have been grabbed by a schoolgirl who won a bronze.
Sky Brown has become the youngest British Olympic medallist after she won a bronze in the skateboarding on Wednesday, 4 August, aged 13.
It is a stunning achievement not only because of her tender years but also because she was almost killed in a horrific skateboarding accident two years ago.
Sky Brown, who has become Britain's youngest ever Olympic medallist
© AP Photo / Ben Curtis
At the age of 11 she suffered a fractured skull and a broken wrist when she tried to plug a gap between two half-pipes and landed on her head.
As she stood with the bronze medal around her neck she told reporters: "I didn't know if I would skate really. My parents were saying 'Don't skate, do something else'. But I'm so happy to be here. I honestly feel like the accident made me stronger."
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Brown, who was born in Japan, was on the podium with two Japanese girls, one of whom was even younger than her.
The youngest person to win an Olympic medal in #TeamGB history 🇬🇧
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 4, 2021
An unbelievable achievement from the extraordinary Sky Brown 🥉#Tokyo2020
Kokona Hiraki, who will turn 13 later this month, won silver while the gold was one by the positively ancient Sakura Yosozumi, who is 19.
Brown has a million followers on Instagram and the Daily Mail claims she is already worth US$5 million and is Nike’s youngest sponsored athlete.
She is aiming to win the gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024, when she will be the grand old age of 17, but she also has her eye on the surfing competition.
These #skateboarding outfits are 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wzDUH2Jb0n
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 4, 2021
Asked if that was a reality she said: "Maybe. I really hope so, I'm definitely going to try surfing.”
Sky Brown, 13, who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics
© AP Photo / Ben Curtis
The only trouble is that the skateboarding in 2024 will be held in Paris and the surfing in Tahiti, 10,000 miles away.
Marjorie Gestring, who died in 1992, retains the record as the youngest ever Olympic champion - she was 13 years and 268 days when she won the diving at Berlin in 1936.
