Sky Brown: It’s OK to fall, says 11-year-old skateboarder after horrific California incident

Brown suffered skull fractures and broke both her left wrist and hand, but is expected to make a full recovery

Lawrence Ostlere
Monday 15 June 2020 12:37 BST
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Sky Brown's fall left her with a fractured skull
Sky Brown's fall left her with a fractured skull (skybrown Instagram)

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The 11-year-old skateboarder Sky Brown posted a video of her life-threatening fall on social media to show her fans: “All your heroes are going to fall.”

Brown, the youngest professional skateboarder in the world, suffered the horrific crash after accidentally jumping off the side of a half-pipe. She was airlifted to hospital, where she was unresponsive on arrival.

Brown suffered skull fractures and broke both her left wrist and hand, but is expected to make a full recovery. After several days in hospital, she posted a clip of the incident on Instagram.

“I just thought: on social media, everything is perfect,” she told BBC Sport. “People might think I’m super girl or something but I want to show sometimes you’re going to fall. I want to spread the message that it’s OK to fall sometimes, you are going to fall, Beyonce’s going to fall, all your heroes are going to fall.

“I wanted to show you’ve got to get back up and keep on going. Falling is part of life and that can’t stop what you’re doing.”

Brown has ambitions of reaching the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which have been postponed until next summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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