Sky Brown is not your typical nine-year-old girl. Due to her young age, the Japanese girl is considered the youngest professional skater in the world.
She has a clear goal: to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which since August 2016 added skateboarding as a new sport, along with karate, surfing, baseball, and climbing.
"By that time, I'll be twelve. It's going to be great. I want to go and enjoy, be myself. But it would also be amazing to win," she said in an interview with AFP.
Her favorite toy
Since she started skateboarding at the age of three, her parents knew she had a promising future. However, accepting it was difficult for them due to the risks involved in this sport.
"I had a hard time the first few times I saw my daughter doing stunts in the air. But now I trust her. If she says she can do it, I believe her," confesses her mother, Meiko, who has been her biggest support.
Her father, on the other hand, tried to get her to change sports, but was unsuccessful. "Before she turned three, I didn't want her to ride a skateboard. When you have a child, you want to protect them, but she kept coming back to that toy," he says resignedly.
A little wonder
But Sky also stands out in other aspects. She is part of the professional surfing circle. In fact, she got her first major sponsorship at the age of seven and has since worked to perfect her technique.
She also dedicates part of her incredible energy to philanthropic causes: she recently raised money for underprivileged children in Cuba and Cambodia, two countries she visited last year to prepare a documentary.
"I don't want to wait until I'm sixteen to do what I'm passionate about. I want to show all girls that it's possible: try it, even if you're small," says Sky, smiling.
(With information from AFP)
