Sky Brown exclusive: Injury is part of my story and it’s a story I want to tell
It was one of the defining moments of the last Olympic Games and Sky Brown was at the centre of it.
Moments before then the 13-year-old was staring down her third and final run attempt. Having tripped over the same trick on the previous two tries, this was the last chance to stake her claim on the women’s park skateboarding event.
Dropping in and stomping the kickflip indy that had troubled her on her previous goes, she ripped around the bowl finishing off the rest of the run. When it was over the young Briton punched the air with both arms before dropping down with her hands behind her head in relief. She had done it.
As had become customary throughout the contest, the rest of the field came over to hug her in celebration. The jubilant scenes that followed sealed the park contest as an Olympic memory few would ever forget.
The connected energy of skateboarding, debuting at the Games, touched the lives of millions tuning in in the middle of the pandemic looking for light relief. And who could not smile watching a 13-year-old who had refused to quit be rewarded with a medal?
Sitting for an interview with Olympics.com ahead of Paris 2024, it’s clear the same infectiously positive energy that radiated from Brown then, is still present now.
Three years older and roughly two inches taller she is quite obviously different from the young shredder that first inspired a generation of Britons to pick up a skateboard after making history in Tokyo.
“I am older, a little more experienced, a little taller, a little bigger. I've been training a lot so I think I definitely got stronger and more powerful,” Brown reflects, listing the main differences between her then and now.
“I think I've grown and I think I've grown in skateboarding too.”
The growth Brown points to between Tokyo and Paris comes in several forms.
On her skateboarding, the change in quality became instantly apparent when the qualification process for skateboarding in Paris began two years ago.
The Tokyo bronze medallist kickstarted proceedings at the World Championships in Sharjah where she struck gold ahead of familiar faces Yosozumi Sakura and Hiraki Cocona. Two months later in the mountains of Argentina, she won for a second time and by 4.67 points, as if to underline the start of a new era.
After that came Brown’s growth in ambition. Never one to rest on her laurels, the young Briton declared her intention to try and secure a quota in the women’s surfing event for Paris 2024.
Her surf sabbatical drew her away from the park bowl and into the ocean the waves as she travelled the world mounting her bid. The time spent out on the water also brought with it a change to her training. Brown began pumping iron, attending CrossFit classes, and doing mobility work; all to help her progress.
When Brown’s Paris surf bid came up achingly short in March earlier this year she returned her attention to the skatepark ahead of the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) - the last two showdowns before the Games - set for May and June.
And it was then Brown was asked to grow again.
"It's part of skateboarding; it's a part of life"
“I was filming a part for my shoe that just came out, and, I had like two months to film, and one day I was warming up in the middle of my two months and just fell,” Brown says candidly, recalling how she tore her MCL.
The injury would sideline her for nearly two months forcing her to miss the first stop of OQS in Shanghai altogether. And even when the second leg arrived in Budapest, the Briton touched down still not completely fit with her knee supported by a brace.
Though undoubtedly a setback, Brown is no stranger to complex injuries.
In 2020, a considerable fall from a halfpipe ramp led to a fractured skull and broken wrist which required extensive rehabilitation to overcome. On the eve of her departure here in Paris, she suffered a dislocated shoulder while out practising. Team GB doctors and physios had to clear the skater for the Games.
“It's part of skateboarding; it's part of life," Brown admits. "I'm used to these injuries and overcoming them. Now, this one was definitely hard on my knee. I've never done my knee and I couldn't do a lot of things. it was a long time waiting and not being able to do much, but I made sure I trained every part of my body that I could train and be as strong as I could.
“I was doing a lot of CrossFit physical therapy. I literally did whatever I could to come back stronger than ever without using my knee.”
The remarkable maturity from Brown, belying her years, continues as she explains what it's like watching skate contests from the sidelines.
“Any time I'm hurt, I just see skateboarding what the other girls are doing, what the boys are doing and I'm like, ‘Oh!’ Like it really fires me up. Seeing them push makes me want to push and gives me ideas of what I want to do next.
“Even the year I wasn't competing, it was just so cool to see every contest something new comes out or a new winner or like, the level is progressing. Especially since Tokyo, it's progressed so much, you know?"
She continues: “Every time I get hurt, I do think I come back stronger. And it's part of my story and it's the story I want to tell.
“I think the story is what I want to tell more than the medal. I definitely want the gold medal but yeah, I think this is part of my story.” - Sky Brown to Olympics.com
Sky Brown returns to the Olympic stage for the second time at Paris 2024
"I want to do the most to show how beautiful it is"
It’s a testament to just how far Brown’s skateboarding has come that despite the recent fitness doubts, she will be among the favourites for the top prize in Paris.
In Budapest, the Olympic medallist reminded everyone - contenders and public alike - that despite her time away she should be discounted as she finished the contest in second behind Australian phenom Arisa Trew.
Trew, 14, as with Hiraki and Yosozumi, will be among Brown’s greatest challenges when the women’s park gets underway after carving out history of her own.
Last year she became the first woman to successfully land a 720 -two-and-a-half rotations in the air - in competition. This year she went one step further becoming the first to ever land a 900.
It will be an event watched closely: not just for the feel-good moments, but also for the promise of quality. Skateboarding across the board has seen a significant uptick in progression especially in women’s park thanks to the efforts of Brown, Trew and others.
Change, in all its forms, may well be the prevailing theme ahead of this event for Brown, but there’s one thing that has stayed constant: her love of the occasion. And that’s exactly what she intends to spotlight.
“I’m super excited to get to show the world skateboarding again and how incredible it really is - the sport, the community, the family we have because of it. It's really an amazing sport. So, I really can't wait. And I'm what I want to do most to show how beautiful it is and inspire a lot of people to skate, especially girls.”