The Paper's reporter Qi Dong intern Ma Yiyan
Skye Brown at the Olympics.
Sky Brown, who was only 13 years old and 28 days old, leaned forward on the skateboard and slid into the fiery clay bowl of Tokyo Olympic Park.
When Skye Brown made her appearance, the stadium's DJ began playing The Stone Rose's She Bang s the Drumps — a song 19 years older than her. As Skye descended through the first corner, Bass's bass stirred up in the empty stands.
"The past is yours, but the future is mine," the lyrics describe Skye Brown, who holds the future in his hands.
The youngest athlete in British Olympic history became the youngest Olympic medalist in British history to lock in the bronze medal with his signature "kick-flip indy".
But the 13-year-old girl is clearly more legendary than a bronze medal.
Skye Brown represented England.
The world's third, a dream
"I'm so excited! It's unbelievable, it's all like a dream. "Skye Jr. was a little overwhelmed after the game about winning an Olympic medal.
But Tokyo wasn't where Skye Brown became famous in World War I. Five years ago, at the age of 8, Skye Brown became the youngest player in the Vans Open.
Her sporting momentum has never stopped — she won the grand prize on the 2018 American pop show Dance with the Stars: Junior, and became the youngest champion at the Vans Open that same year at the age of 11.
Skye as a child.
In 2019, she won the Simple Sessions Championship in February, and then she took the podium on the stage of the World Skateboarding Championships and finished third.
With a lot of honors, the young skateboarder made it to the Tokyo Olympics — before that, she was ranked third in the world and far behind her opponents in points.
Winning the bronze medal is also the best confirmation of the world ranking.
Skye Brown at the age of 11 in the game.
Invitation by the British Delegation
Receiving a lot of attention at a young age, Skye Brown's popularity surprised her family.
In terms of attention, Little Brown, who has more than 1 million social media followers, can be called an "internet celebrity", but her parents insist that Little Brown focus on his studies instead of participating in various skateboarding competitions and business activities to earn money. And no matter what activities you participate in, you must ask for the consent of Brown Jr. himself.
Even the intention to participate in the Tokyo Olympics was invited by Lucy Adams, the president of the British Skateboarding Association, "despite his young age, Skye has done all kinds of incredible tricks." ”
Father Stu Brown also said, "If it wasn't for Lucy's invitation, I think we would definitely not have let our daughter go [to the Olympics], and if it wasn't for the Olympics in Japan, we probably wouldn't have gone." ”
His father, Stu, was an Englishman who lived in the United States, his mother Mieko was Japanese, and Skye herself was born in Japan. She lived half a year in Japan and half a year in the United States.
In addition to skateboarding, Skye's other big hobby is surfing. In addition, she has to learn to play the guitar, practice judo... Her father said, "Skateboarding is not about competition, it's just a pleasure and we hope to keep it that way." ”
Skye Brown made public footage of himself when he was injured.
Fatal falls
Even after a long time of fame, the Olympic bronze medal apparently shocked everyone, including Skye Brown, who suffered a major injury a year ago.
During a training session in June 2020, she accidentally flew out of the edge while rushing to the top of the high slope and fell from the skateboard, followed by her head landing on hard ground first... The fall from this height left her with multiple fractures in her skull, hands and wrists.
By the time she was rushed to the hospital, she had lost consciousness. Skye's father said at the time: "It was the worst she's ever experienced, and luckily she's still alive." When she first arrived at the hospital, everyone was worried about her life. ”
Skye Brown in the hospital.
But the optimistic girl wasn't depressed—"Skye was still so positive. Seeing her positivity, the entire medical team was shocked. ”
Skye, who had just woken up from a coma at the time, said: "It's normal to fall once in a while. I will return as soon as possible and train harder. There are so many things going on in the world right now, and I just want people to be able to do whatever they do with love and joy. ”
The triumph after the suffering was obviously more precious, and standing in the hot Tokyo Skate Park, Little Skye could not hide her excitement.
"It used to be a tough time for a lot of people. So the moment of coming back was really cool, and it was really cool to get the bronze medal, and I was really happy. It really made me stronger. ”
Endorsements and the darling of the brand
Skye has always been passionate about life and skateboarding, and she has a maturity that is not matched by her age.
"If you believe in yourself, you can do anything — just like I chose to believe in myself."
"Anyone can skateboard. You don't have to be tall, you don't have to have a specific age, you can learn whenever you want. Height and age do not matter. You just have to step on the skateboard and work hard to do it. "
Skye, 13, is used to big scenes — multiple brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, Vans, Nike, have partnered with the little girl, and she's shot commercials for Visa and Samsung.
Last year, she even appeared as a Barbie model, and Barbie officially released a character equipped with a skateboard in her image.
After winning the Olympics, her £3.5 million (about 31 million yuan) worth is expected to soar further, and there are many more well-known companies that are eager to endorse her.
Adams Pitty, also the breaststroke champion of the British delegation, was even more impressed by the great achievements of the little girl in front of him, and he sighed on Twitter:
"When I was 13, I played games in the room all day. It's a crazy achievement! ”
Of course, Skye won't be satisfied with her immediate achievements, and she's even trying to get into other areas – Skye has set her sights on the 2024 Paris Olympics, when the 16-year-old hopes to stand out in both skateboarding and surfing.
"I really hope to get there smoothly and there's no doubt I'll try to go racing surfing."
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas
Proofreader: Yijia Xu