PARIS -- After nailing a spellbinding McTwist into body varial 540, capping an extraordinary third run in the women's park final, 14-year-old Arisa Trew triumphantly threw her arms into the air, welcoming the raucous cheers raining down from the temporary Place de La Concorde grandstands. She then picked up her skateboard and ran back up the bowl to collect a chain of high fives from her giddy competitors, who had been just as mesmerised by her performance as those in the crowd.
At that point, Trew didn't know what she had just scored, but she had a pretty good idea the number was going to be big. Maybe big enough to leapfrog Japan's Cocona Kiraki, who currently occupied top spot with a 92.63.
Moments later, her score flashed up onto the jumbotron sitting high above the park: 93.18! Once again, the crowd erupted in delight.
On Tuesday afternoon in Paris, metres from the famed Grand Palais, Trew unequivocally proved the timeless expression 'age is just a number', dazzling and mystifying on her board under sunny skies to fulfill a lifelong dream and capture Olympic gold. And at 14 years and 88 days, she became the youngest Australian to stand on an Olympic podium, much less the top step.
"I got told that by a few people ... it's pretty insane," Trew said upon learning of her historic accomplishment. "That's who I'm representing and it's just amazing. I couldn't believe it when I knew that I was the winner of the Olympics. It's just super cool that I have won the gold medal, because it has been like a dream. It was crazy. I'm just so excited."
Trew had qualified in sixth spot for the final, but her form guide was a touch misleading. It was evident from the moment she plunged into the bowl during prelims earlier in the day that should she complete an error-free run in the final, she would be the one to beat. Her bag of tricks was bigger and more impressive than anyone else, it was just a matter of piecing it all together when it mattered. And that's precisely what unfolded on her third and final run when she stitched everything into the most magical minute of her life.
Decked out in her trademark hot pink helmet, knee pads, and socks, Trew evoked oohs and aahs from those watching on in amazement as she whizzed around the park performing a series of audacious tricks, each one more daring and mind-boggling than the one that preceded it. The jewel in the crown being that McTwist into body varial 540, one she landed cleanly down on her haunches. Nobody else even attempted anything as daunting.
"I was just thinking on my final run that I had to land it no matter what," Trew said, beaming in delight. "I wasn't really nervous because I just needed to think that it's another skate comp and I just to have fun with all of my friends and skate my best. All I really wanted to do was land a solid run."
Trew had long been destined for this golden moment. Seven years ago, at age seven, she stood on her very first skateboard. She was mesmerised by it. The way it felt under her feet. The way her motion could dictate which direction it took. What began as a hobby quickly transformed into her life.
Last year's world championships in the United Arab Emirates was where she announced herself, bursting onto the skate scene and ensuring everyone left knowing her name. Just six months later she made history, becoming the first 13-year-old female skater to land a 720-spin.
Never satisfied, she topped that effort earlier this year by becoming the first female in history to pull off the ludicrous 900-degree spin in a halfpipe. It was a feat which garnered the admiration of skateboarding icon Tony Hawk, the very man who pioneered that trick some 25 years before Trew would be born, on his birthday, May 12. "Glass ceilings are so 2023. Congrats," he said. The accomplishment also led to her being recognised as the action sportsperson of the year at the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards.
She then won the two Olympic qualifier events in Shanghai and Budapest to prove to the world she was the one to beat in Paris. And nobody could.
After the celebrations of the podium ceremony, France having been treated to its latest rendition of 'Advance Australia Fair', you had to stop and remind yourself once again that Trew is 14 years of age. She's only been competing at the highest level for two years and Tuesday's triumph is just the beginning of her story.
By the time the next Olympics roll around, in Los Angeles in 2028, Trew would only just be eligible to apply for a driver's license in her home country. The next Games? In Brisbane in 2032, she'll still only be 22.
"I always knew that I wanted to be here and, like, podium and just, like, win," Trew said while wearing her gold medal proudly. "[Olympic skateboarding] in Tokyo really inspired me. Watching all the girls. It pushed me to just want to be here. I thought 'oh, maybe I could do it'."