Arisa Trew becomes youngest Australian to win gold medal at Olympics with skateboard final
She’s our youngest ever Olympic medallist and the 14-year-old Australian’s “insane” gold medal run blew away skateboarding’s biggest ever legend, Tony Hawk.
Fourteen-year-old Arisa Trew became Australia’s youngest ever Olympic gold medallist when she won at La Concorde skate park on Tuesday.
“It’s pretty insane and really cool,” Trew said of the achievement as she cradled her heavy and “beautiful” gold medal.
After taking up skateboarding because the water on the Gold Coast was too cold to go surfing when aged just seven, Trew wearing her trademark hot pink helmet and knee pads electrified the park with tricks that the esteemed master Tony Hawk could only conquer well into his career.
An impressed Hawk was one watching one of thousands in the stands watching on as the Australian teen executed a daring final run to win Olympic gold.
In the minutes after winning Trew said it all felt dreamy.
“It’s just like, super cool that I’ve won the gold medal, because it’s been like a dream,” she said.
And now that she has lived out her dream, she now has heart set on something special as a reward.
“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.
“My dad’s been saying yes this whole time but my Mum has been saying no. But then I said like ‘if I did win, could I get a duck?’ and she said yes.
“I’m going to take the duck to skate parks as well and take it on walks.”
Trew started a little hesitantly and her flag waving support crew in the audience, best friends the street skater Chloe Covell and Australian park skater Ruby Trew, who missed the final and is no relation, admitted to News Corp they were feeling the nerves for her.
Trew fell halfway through the first of three runs in the final, but then backed up with a powerful and technically difficult routine on the second run which won the eye of the judges and moved her to third position behind Japan’s Cocona Hiraki, and the Tokyo bronze medallist Skye Brown, of Britain.
For the third run Trew left nothing behind. She knew she had to land it “no matter what” to secure a medal. She took a deep breath and dropped in. Her training partner, the 13 year old Heili Silvio, from Finland, who was fifth, described Trew’s routine, which included the famed McTwists and a “body burial” as “a really good run, everything was pretty much a banger; like, banger, banger, banger”.
Hawk, who dominated the sport in the 1980’s was skate side and said Trew’s run was exceptional.
“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.’’
Trew was flattered by Hawk’s observations.
“It’s definitely really cool that he said that, because Tony’s like, an inspiration to everyone in skateboarding, it definitely wouldn’t be like at the level is without him,” Trew said.
Now it is Trew who is taking women’s skateboarding to new heights, and the right hand point breaks at the Gold Coast are to take credit.
Trew’s father Simon encouraged Trew, a goofy footer with her right foot forward, to surf natural, leading with her left foot.
That has given her a rare skill to ride both stances and change in the middle of the run. She also has a superb ability to be able to do backwards what her body thinks should be doing forward.
All those boys at the Gold Coast skate parks who used to snake her line, are now her biggest fans.
As Trew hugged her family in the shadow of the skate park grandstands, her fellow skating besties Covell and Ruby Trew, conspired on how to shake off their designated ‘chaperones’ to celebrate with her later at the village.
The skating boarding crew are “like one big family” and the athletes constantly supported each other through a thrilling competition on Tuesday.
“All the girls supporting each other just makes it so much more fun,” Trew said of the environment.
As for what is next, for a teen skater that is transforming the sport, and doing tricks never done before?
“I’m just gonna keep skating and pushing myself and having fun with all these girls…and I am going to keep trying my best,” Trew said.
With that attitude it seems like there is more history to be made by the inspirational Trew.
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