On Tuesday, August 7, skateboarder Arisa Trew made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics as the youngest Australian to win a medal. Awaiting her at home is a special reward: a pet duck.
In a press conference following her victory, the 14-year-old revealed that her parents had promised her the duck if she won gold.
“Ducks are really cute, and I’ve always wanted one,” Trew told reporters when asked about her unique prize.
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“My parents definitely wouldn’t let me get a dog or a cat right now because we’re traveling so much,” Trew told Australia’s Nine News. “But I think a duck might be a bit easier to manage. Plus, I just really want a duck.”
On Tuesday, Trew clinched gold in women’s park skateboarding with a final score of 93.18, according to The Associated Press. Japan's Kokana Hiraki and Great Britain's Sky Brown took silver and bronze, respectively. Hiraki, at 16, had previously set a record as Japan’s youngest medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by winning bronze in the same event at 13.
“It feels amazing to have the gold medal around my neck,” Trew said. “It’s been my goal since watching the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. That inspired me and made me want to come to this Olympics and get to the podium. It’s just amazing.”
Trew, originally from Cairns, Queensland, trains at LVLUP, an academy on Australia’s Gold Coast where she combines her studies with skateboarding practice. She previously won two gold medals at both the 2023 and 2024 X Games.
This was Trew’s first Olympic appearance, and her parents, Simon and Aiko Trew, watched proudly from the stands at La Concorde, struggling to find the words to express their emotions after her historic win.
“We can’t believe it. It’s just insane, absolutely insane,” Simon told Nine News. “We’re at a loss for words. It’s amazing to see someone who loves skateboarding and having fun achieve this.”
Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk extended his congratulations to Trew, Hiraki, Brown, and all the other skateboarding Olympians on Tuesday.
“Congrats to @arisa_trew for her incredible final run in women’s park, earning a well-deserved gold medal,” Hawk wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to all the competitors for advancing skateboarding into a new era of equality and inclusivity. And congratulations to 🥈@cocona.hiraki and 🥉@skybrown.”
For ongoing coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics, visit people.com. Sign up for "Going for Gold," our Olympics newsletter, to receive the latest stories from the Games directly in your inbox. Watch the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, starting July 26, on NBC and Peacock.
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