No sooner has the road to Los Angeles 2028 Olympics begun than Sky Brown has already established herself as one of the leading contenders for another Olympic medal. The British skateboarder, now 17, finished second in the opening event of the Olympic qualification campaign at the World Skate Park World Cup in Ostia, near Rome. Only denied victory in the closing moments by Japan’s Mizuho Hasegawa, the two-time Olympic bronze medallist nevertheless made an almost perfect start to what should become her third Olympic journey.
A successful first step on the road to LA28
Although the Los Angeles Olympic Games are still two years away, the qualification process officially got underway this week in Italy with the opening stop of the World Skateboarding Tour. In a discipline where ranking points accumulated across multiple events are crucial in shaping the World Skateboarding Rankings, every result already matters in the battle for the 22 Olympic quota places available in the women’s park event.
For Brown, the competition represented an immediate return to business following her second world title, secured in São Paulo back in March. Having already claimed bronze medals at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, the Briton had little left to prove on an individual level. Instead, her objective was to begin a new Olympic cycle strongly and reaffirm her status as one of the sport’s premier athletes.
The week could hardly have started better. Brown dominated the semi-finals with an outstanding score of 90.55, comfortably topping the standings. Her run, highlighted by a brilliantly executed kickflip indy, saw her finish ahead of Japanese duo Mizuho Hasegawa and Cocona Hiraki.
The final only reinforced that impression. Competing against one of the strongest fields in women’s skateboarding, Brown delivered a series of high-quality runs. Showing remarkable consistency, she broke the 90-point barrier on multiple occasions and held the lead heading into the closing stages of the competition.
However, the contest turned dramatically in the final moments thanks to Hasegawa. The 15-year-old Japanese star, who had finished runner-up to Brown at the World Championships just a few months earlier, produced a sensational final run. Featuring a perfectly landed 360 varial and kickflip indy, it earned a record-breaking score of 96.33 — the highest mark ever recorded in a women’s World Skate Tour Park final.
Brown was given one final opportunity to reclaim top spot but was unable to surpass her rival’s score. With 93.38 points, she ultimately settled for second place, finishing ahead of fellow Japanese skater Cocona Hiraki, the Olympic silver medallist from both Tokyo and Paris.
The result nevertheless provides Brown with valuable ranking points as the race for Los Angeles 2028 gathers momentum. Qualification will continue through to June 2028 via World Cups, World Championships and the newly introduced Q-Series events. The world’s best skateboarders will need to demonstrate consistency throughout the two-year qualification window if they are to secure their place at the Games.
At just 17 years of age, Brown enters this third Olympic cycle with the experience of a veteran and a résumé that many older competitors would envy. A two-time Olympic medallist and world champion in both 2023 and 2026, a second-place finish in Ostia is far from a career-defining achievement. It still represents an important first milestone on the road to Los Angeles, where she will be aiming to claim a third consecutive Olympic medal.
Elsewhere, fellow British skateboarders Lilly Strachan, along with national champions Lola Tambling and Tay Cunningham, all reached the quarter-final stage in Italy.
