Tokyo Olympics 2020: Sky Brown set to become the youngest British Olympian

Sky Brown is set to become Great Britain’s youngest ever summer Olympian, at 13 years and 11 days after she was selected for Team GB in the skateboard park discipline for Tokyo Olympics 2020, the British Olympic Association announced on Thursday.

Brown will partner with Bombette Martin while competing at the games. Mark England, Team GB’s Chef de Mission for Tokyo Olympics 2020 said:

“It is incredibly exciting to announce Sky and Bombette to Team GB for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Not only will they both make history as Team GB’s first ever skateboarders, but Sky will also make history of her own as she becomes our youngest ever summer Olympian.”

The 13-year-old prodigy will surpass swimmer Margery Hinton, who was 13 years and 44 days old when she represented GB at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.

Brown had been knocking on the door for the last two years, in the hunt for an Olympic berth. She won gold at the UK Skateboard Championships in Salford in 2019. This was followed by a bronze medal at the World Championships in Brazil, in September.

In May 2021, Brown managed a second-place finish in the Dew Tour Skateboard Park final with a final score of 58.50. This performance, in the last Olympic qualification event before Tokyo 2020, helped Brown clinch a berth at the games and earn a World No. 3 ranking in the process.

Brown’s partner, Bombette Martin, who is also just 14 years old, has tasted success in skateboarding competitions over the past two years. She won Skateboard GB's Habito National Championships in April 2021, and more recently finished in the top 20 on the Dew Tour in the USA.

Sky Brown is currently ranked No 3 in the world

Skateboarding introduced in Tokyo Olympics 2020

Skateboarding is one of the five sports, along with baseball, surfing, mountain climbing and karate, that have been added to the games for the Tokyo Olympics.

The park discipline of the sport, which Brown and Martin will be participating in, takes place in a hollowed-out course which resembles an empty swimming pool, with steep sides, and almost vertical tops. Skaters perform tricks such as 'grabs' and 'spins', grinding around the course aiming to be as creative as possible around the entire course.