Tokyo 2020 hopeful Sky Brown is “lucky to be alive” after a horrific training accident left her unresponsive after being airlifted to hospital.
The 11-year-old fell from a ramp in training last week in California, but recorded footage of the incident only emerged on her Instagram account overnight.
After fracturing her skull and breaking both her left wrist and hand just weeks ahead of the original date for the Olympics, the young Briton had to be airlifted to hospital.
Brown has been tipped as a potential gold medallist as Team GB’s youngest ever Olympian, but her father, Stuart, said it had been “the gnarliest fall she’s ever had”.
He said: “Sky landed head-first off a ramp on her hand. When she first came to hospital, everyone was fearful for her life. Sky is lucky to be alive. She remains positive and strong. The whole medical team is shocked to see her positivity.”
In an Instagram post from her hospital bed, Brown, who was sporting a black eye, said: “I don’t usually post my falls or talk about them because I want people to see the fun in what I do, but this was my worst fall.
“And I want everyone to know that I’m okay. It’s okay to fall sometimes. I’m just going to get back up and push even harder. I know there’s a lot of things going on in the world right now. I want everyone to know that whatever we do, we’re just going to do it with love and happiness.”
In a further statement, she added: “I know a lot of people are worried about me, but don’t worry, I’m okay. I’m excited to come back even stronger and even tougher. My heart wants to go so hard right now. I’m just waiting for my body to catch up. Thank you everyone for sending your love, messages and supporting me. I’m sorry to make you worry. I’m going to be just fine.”
The rising star of the skateboard world said her helmet had saved her life in the incident.
Brown received a flurry of messages from the wider skateboarding world. Tony Hawk wrote: “Worst day ever. Hope your surgery went well today.” Meanwhile, former world and X Games champion Leticia Bufoni said: “Hey, you are strong. Everything gonna be okay soon. Get better.”
Despite the year-long delay to the Tokyo, Brown is still on track to become Britain’s youngest-ever Olympian and potential medallist as skateboarding gets set to make its Games debut.
The current record is held by swimmer Margery Hinton, who competed for Britain at the 1928 Games at the age of 13 years and 43 days.
Brown has marked herself out as a genuine medal contender for Tokyo. She won bronze at last year’s World Championships in Brazil when aged just 10, and the 12-month-delay could further help her cause, particularly in light of the timing of her injury.
