Teen skater Trew eyeing Paris after rolling off with Laureus award

MADRID: Resplendent in a pink dress with matching sneakers, 14-year-old Arisa Trew performed a kickflip on her skateboard in a unique red carpet entrance to the Laureus awards ceremony in Madrid before rolling away with a trophy in her category.

The Australian trailblazer became the first female skateboarder to be named World Action Sportsperson of the Year, beating out nominees including Brazilian men’s World Surf League champion Felipe Toledo and British BMX racer Bethany Shriever.

Last June, the Gold Coast teen generated global headlines when she landed a “720” at the Tony Hawk Vert Alert competition in Salt Lake City, Utah, becoming the first female to pull off the aerial double rotation in competition. Skating icon Hawk, who invented the trick in 1985, watched on.

A month later, Trew pulled off another 720 to win the women’s vert title at the X Games in California ahead of Canada’s 10-year-old runner-up Reese Nelson. “I look up to Tony Hawk so much,” Trew said after receiving her award on Monday.

“I was pretty close to landing it for a while and I knew at the comp I wanted to try it. He helped me, gave me some tips, so it was really cool because he’s one of my idols.” Trew is on track to represent Australia at the Paris Games, where she will hope to become her nation’s youngest Olympic medallist.