The teen skateboarder has created history by becoming the youngest Olympic gold medalist from Australia.
It's not unusual for parents to promise their kids a reward for achieving a goal, but sometimes the reward is as extraordinary as the achievement itself. Arisa Trew, a 14-year-old skateboarder, made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by becoming the youngest Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. Her chosen reward? A pet duck. "My parents promised if I won the gold medal I would get a pet duck," Trew told Nine.
When asked why she specifically wanted a duck, Trew explained, "Because they are really cute, then I can take it on walks and take it to the skate park." She added, "My parents definitely wouldn't let me get a dog or a cat because we are traveling so much right now. But I feel like a duck might be a little bit easier, and... I don't know, I just want a duck." The skateboarder remarked, "It will just be in my yard and I'll get a little pool thing for it." The 14-year-old shared with Fox Sports Australia that her parents were initially against the idea of getting her a duck but eventually agreed to get her one if she won a gold at the Olympics and she did.
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"It feels amazing having the gold medal around my neck. 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, which is amazing," Trew told the outlet. The teen reportedly started her journey in sports as a surfer but turned to skateboarding when it got too cold in Australia to keep surfing. "It was because I surfed a lot, and I still do surf so much now when I have time, but in winter it got too cold. So my dad took me to the skate park and I just started skating, and I loved it from then," she shared.
She has become the only woman to land a 720 in competition and also the only woman to ever land a 900. Because of the girl's stellar performance previously, her parents were expecting great things from her at the Olympics, as per Fox Sports Australia. "It's like, almost just normal to be honest. We watch her skate every day, and we watch her just do these tricks and watch her practice these tricks all day. We watch her fall and get up and just jump back out and do it again," Trew's dad told the outlet. The girl hopes that everybody who's watching her gets inspired by her win. "I want them to start skateboarding, try something new and have a challenge," she said.
Trew shared that her friends were thrilled about her win and have sent her countless messages, though she hasn't had time to read them all. The gold medalist attends the LVLUP academy in Australia where she can both study and practice her skateboarding skills. She shared how some of her closest friends slept over at the Skate park at her school so they could watch her compete the next day. "It's really cool being Australia's youngest gold medalist," the girl remarked during her interview. When asked what she wanted to name her pet duck, she hadn’t finalized a name yet but received a great suggestion: Goldie.