At just 17, Sky Brown stood unshaken as the skies opened over São Paulo, turning the skate park into a rain-slicked battlefield.
Against the odds, the British prodigy conquered the elements and her rivals to clinch her second world championship, proving that nothing not age, not weather, not pressure can stop a champion in her element.
Heavy rainfall forced officials to curtail the competition, but Brown’s brilliance shone through. She secured the gold with a competition-high score of 88.16 points in her second run.
Only Japan’s Cocona Hiraki managed to start a third run before the downpour forced an early conclusion, confirming Brown’s score as the winning mark.
Women’s Podium
- Gold: Sky Brown (Britain) – 88.16 points
- Silver: Cocona Hiraki (Japan) – 84.36 points
- Bronze: Minna Stess (USA) – 83.90 points
Australia’s 14-year-old Olympic gold medallist Arisa Trew impressed with her performance but finished fourth with 80.06 points, narrowly missing a medal.
Brown, who first won a world title in Sharjah three years ago, acknowledged her disappointment that the final could not be fully completed. She told World Skate:
"The level is crazy – I had to put a lot down to get here. To win, to be a world champion on International Women’s Day definitely means a lot. This feels huge and I am so thankful, but there are bigger things going on. I just pray for peace."
World Skate had set a 7pm local deadline for the competition to resume, noting that any further weather interruptions would end proceedings. Despite the relentless rain, Brown’s performance stood out as a testament to her resilience, consistency, and technical mastery in park skateboarding.
In the men’s park event, Spain’s Egoitz Bijueska successfully defended his title with a winning run of 95.83 points, followed by Brazil’s Kalani Konig (94.80) and the USA’s Tom Schaar (90.51) completing the podium.
