- Title: This 11-year-old skateboarder could become Britain's youngest ever Olympian
- Date: 25th September 2019
- Summary: HUNTINGTON, BEACH, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) 11-YEAR-OLD SKATEBOARDER SKY BROWN PREPARING FOR A TRAINING SESSION SKY BROWN TRAINING AT VAN'S SKATE PARK IN HUNTINGTON BEACH (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKY BROWN SAYING: "So I think girls can do anything that boys can do or maybe even better. Like, because I feel like, sometimes girls are scared to do what boys are doing, because they are like, 'It's a boy's sport. I can't do that', but actually you can do anything that boys can do." MORE OF SKY BROWN TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKY BROWN SAYING: Reuters reporter Rory Carroll asks question: "You chose to go with Team GB instead of Team Japan. Can you talk about how that decision was made and why?" Sky Brown saying: "Well we weren't going to do the Olympics because my parents thought it was too much pressure but then Team GB, Lucy Adams, she's like the boss of the Skateboarding Association, she said that there's no pressure. 'Just get out there and have fun' and that the way I skate. Like, I don't really think it's like a training thing, I think it's like more of my happy place. It's like a playground for me." SKY BROWN ON SKATEBOARD (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKY BROWN SAYING: Reuters reporter Rory Carroll asking question: "Do you hope to be an inspiration to other girls?" Sky Brown saying: "Yeah, like I want to hopefully, that's why I want to be in the Olympics to inspire girls and hopefully when they see me, this little girl doing this crazy trick, hopefully when they see me they'll be like, 'Maybe I can do that too'.†HELMET CAM SHOT OF BROWN TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKY BROWN SAYING: "Well the girls are getting really good. Like the girls are amazing. So it's going to be pretty hard like, I don't really care if I get on the podium. I just want to get my tricks and like want to do tricks that girls aren't doing or even boys aren't doing... so yeah." SKY BROWN WITH TRAINING PARTNER SAKURA YOSOZUMI OF JAPAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKY BROWN SAYING: "I think we met when I was like five? We've known each other for a pretty long time and since then we've been pretty tight and she's right now second in the world which is amazing!" YOSOZUMI AND BROWN (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) SAKURA YOSOZUMI SAYING: Reuters Reporter Rory Carroll asking question (in English): "What's it like to support each other and be friends and also compete against each other? Sakura Yosozumi saying (Japanese): "Outside the competition we get along very well but in the competition we like to compete. It's really nice." SKY BROWN SPEAKING WITH TRAINING PARTNER SAKURA YOSOZUMI OF JAPAN SKY BROWN SPEAKING WITH SKATEBOARDING VETERAN AND BROWN MENTOR CHRISTIAN HOSOI (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHRISTIAN HOSOI SAYING: "I guess what would set her apart is just her wanting to help people - girls. Not only in skateboarding but off of the skateboard. She's an amazing skateboarder, dancer, she's got a million dollar smile, she speaks well but I think her philanthropy and what she does to help girls around the world to believe in themselves. To say, 'you know what, you can do it. Whatever you want to do, you can do it'. I love to hear her messages like that and for me that's what I love about Sky is she wants to change the world." (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKY BROWN SAYING: "Well since when I was little I would go to unprivileged places and as soon as I saw that I wanted to do something. Like I could easily be like there. I just got lucky so I was like 'I want to do something' so I decided to design a skateboard and I also designed a sock. So basically 10 dollars (US dollars) from each of these skateboards go to kids in Skateistan." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) SKY BROWN SAYING: "So far we've made 20 grand (20 thousand U.S. dollars) so this is crazy. Skateistan is in places like Cambodia, Afghanistan and South Africa so...Yeah! CLOSE-UP SHOT OF SKY BROWN WITH HELMET
- Embargoed: 9th October 2019 17:05
- Keywords: Tokyo 2020 Sky Brown Sakura Yosozumi
- Location: HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Olympics,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001AY5O7CV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS A WHITE FLASH
Sky Brown, the 11-year-old skateboarding prodigy who is poised to become Britain's youngest ever Olympian at the 2020 Tokyo Games, has already amassed an enviable resume.
Pro skateboarder, surfing phenomenon, junior champion of the US television programme 'Dancing with the Stars' and determined philanthropist, the charismatic Brown is transforming our understanding of what the next generation is capable of.
Brown, who was born in Japan to a British father and Japanese mother, took a big step towards making Team GB's Olympic squad with a third place finish at the World Championships in Brazil earlier this month.
Initially her parents Stu and Mieko thought the pressure of competing at the Tokyo Games, where skateboarding will make it Olympic debut, would be too much for her.
But they had a change of heart after speaking to Skateboard GB chair Lucy Adams.
"She said there is no pressure, just get out there and have fun," Brown told Reuters.
"And that's the way I skate. I don't really think of it as a training thing. I think of it more as my happy place. It's like a playground for me."
Brown is passionate about making sure that playground, which has traditionally been the domain of men and boys, is open to everyone.
If she qualifies, Brown will be 12 years and 12 days old when the Games begin in July 2020, eclipsing the record set by swimmer Margery Hinton who was 13 years and 43 days old when she competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. Unlike many other Olympic sports, skateboarding does not have an age requirement for its athletes.
Brown often trains with her close friend, 2018 Park Skateboarding world champion Sakura Yosozumi, who is currently number two in the world.
Skateboarding legend and Brown mentor Christian Hosoi said that beyond her abundance of natural talent and amiable personality, Brown's passion for helping others is what makes her unique.
Brown has already traveled to Cambodia with Skateistan, a non-profit that has set up skateboarding schools in struggling parts of the world to help underprivileged children, and a trip with the organisation's school in Afghanistan is now in the works.
"I love to hear her message and for me that's what I love about Sky. She wants to change the world."
Brown, who lives in Miyazaki, Japan and also spends time in Southern California, said she has witnessed poverty while travelling and those experiences instilled in her a feeling of empathy for the less fortunate.
"As soon as I saw that I was like, I want to do something because I could easily be there," she said.
"I just got lucky."
Brown, who counts Almost Skateboards and Nike among her growing list of sponsors, designed a board with Almost adorned with a dove representing peace to help support Skateistan.
Ten dollars from each sale goes to support the kids in the program and the sales have already raised $20,000, an amount Brown called "crazy."
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