HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.—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 skater, surfing phenom, Dancing with the Stars juniors champion and determined philanthropist, Brown is transforming ideas about what the next generation is capable of.
At a sun-soaked skatepark in Southern California last week she took on a new role—director.
Standing at the edge of a vertigo-inducing bowl, Brown guided two veteran camera people on where best to position themselves to capture her tricks.
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 this month.
If she qualifies, Brown will be 12 years and 12 days old when the Games begin in July, eclipsing the record set by swimmer Margery Hinton, who was 13 years and 43 days when she competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.
Brown’s parents Stu and Mieko initially thought the pressure of competing in Tokyo, where skateboarding will be making it Olympic debut, would be too much for her.
But Brown said 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.”
By Rory Carroll