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Skateboarder Will Become Youngest Ever UK Summer Olympian

Skateboarder Will Become Youngest Ever UK Summer Olympian

Skye Brown will beat a record that's lasted for over 90 years when she makes her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020

Simon Catling

Simon Catling

A UK skateboarder is set to become her country's youngest Olympian later this summer in Tokyo, making her bow at the Olympic Games having just turned 13 years old.

Skye Brown will be just 13 years and 11 days old when she starts her competition in the Women's park discipline on 4 August - with skateboarding itself also new to the Olympic programme.

Brown earned her spot after winning a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships in Sao Paolo and subsequently taking part in a series of qualification events for the Games, which left her ranked third overall and comfortably inside the top 16 in the world chosen automatically to compete.

Her appearance in the Great Britain squad means that she beats a 93-year-old record in becoming the new youngest Great Britain Olympian.

PA

The previous record holder was Margery Hinton, who was 13 days older when she swam in the 200-metre breaststroke at the Amsterdam Olympics of 1928.

As part of a super-young skateboarding team for the British, Brown will be joined in the Women's park event by 14-year-old Bombette Martin.

Both will have to be at their best to beat the host nation Japan's own teen prodigy, Misugu Okamoto, however.

Aged just 15 herself, Okamoto won the Women's Park Skateboarding World Cup in 2019 when just 13, and subsequently won three Olympic qualifying events to seal her place at this summer's Games.

PA

In November 2019, she became the first female to land a kickflip Indy in competition.

Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England 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."

While countries are still finalising their selections across the Olympics' 33 different sports, it's likely Brown will be one of the youngest competitors in Tokyo across all events.

However, the youngest of them all may well be Syrian table tennis player Hend Zaza.

Aged just 11, Zaza won four out of five matches at the Western Asia Olympic Qualification Tournament in March to secure her spot in the women's table tennis competition.

As for the youngest Olympian of all time?

Well, while early modern games didn't have 100% accuracy regarding the details of everyone who competed, you have to go all the way back to the first Olympics of the 'modern era' in 1896.

In Athens that year, 10-year-old Greek Dimitrios Loundras competed in gymnastics for the host country and even won a bronze medal. He remains the youngest confirmed Olympic athlete of all time.

The Olympic Games in Tokyo open on 23 July.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: SPORT, olympics