Fourteen-year-old Arisa Trew became Australia’s youngest ever Olympic gold medallist after her win at La Concorde skate park in France on Tuesday, August 6.
With a background in surfing, the Gold Coast native began skating at age seven and has fostered her identity as a key player in the sport with her trademark hot pink helmet, knee pads and extraordinary skill.
“It’s just like, super cool that I’ve won the gold medal, because it’s been like a dream… I used to ask my parents if I won if I could get a pet duck because ducks are really cute and I really wanted a pet duck,” Trew said on her win.
Trew’s father encouraged the originally goofy footer to surf natural (lead with her left foot instead of her right) giving her the ability to switch stances mid-run and have just as much confidence on backward runs as she has skating forward.
Skating pioneer Tony Hawk, who dominated the sport in the 1980’s was skate side and appeared impressed by Trew’s run.
“She absolutely deserved it, I think she is leading the way of what’s possible in skateboarding and women’s skateboarding,” Hawk said.
“We are lucky to have her, she did a couple of 540 variations, including a McTwist and a body variable five and that’s not something you generally see in one run,’’ he added.
Source: The Advertiser.
