14-year-old Olympic Skateboarder Arisa Trew Promised a Pet Duck After Winning Gold—and It’s Oh-So-Cute!
A gold medal is the ultimate dream for Olympic athletes, but sometimes they like to find even more ways to celebrate their victory if they manage to get the gold. One champion, Arisa Trew, is excited to mark the occasion with an usual new pet. Keep reading to find out more about this young skateboarding athlete and why she can’t wait for a duck to join her family.
Who is Arisa Trew?
Skateboarder Trew has been making waves in the 2024 Olympic games, catching the attention of crowds around the world and even professional skateboarders. The reason? She made history this week when she became Australia’s youngest ever gold medalist at just 14 years old. (Learn how another Olympian defied age expectations).
The athlete earned her medal in the women’s park skateboarding competition when she scored 93.18 on her final run, according to The Associated Press. She was in third place until her third run when she completed a 540 (a trick that involves 1 ? rotations in the air) before she landed the first place spot.
Trew follows in the footsteps of Kokana Hiraki, who became Japan’s youngest medal winner when she won bronze in the event in 2020 at the age of 13. (This time around, she won silver going against Trew).
“On my first run, I fell on one of the tricks that I had been landing like every time,” she reportedly said of her last run. “So that was kind of annoying. So I just knew it was all or nothing after that because I just had to land a really good run just to make it into the podium. And on my third run I had to secure my spot, so I just brought everything out.”
Why was Arisa Trew promised a duck?
Though the teenager shared it felt “amazing” to win gold, she’s eagerly as excited about another special reward soon to be coming her way: a pet duck. During a press conference, Trew happily shared that her parents promised her she could get a duck if she clinched the gold medal victory.
"Because they are really cute, then I can take it on walks and take it to the skate park,” she told Australia’s Nine Network. "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.”
Trew added that her new feather friend could just live in their yard back in Australia. Naturally, she also plans to get a small pool for the little one to swim in. (Have a pet dog? Find out how to keep him safe in the water).
Domesticated ducks are full of personality, and are known to be highly intelligent, playful and emotional creatures. When well cared for, they can also live 10-15 years, which means the teenage skateboarder will surely have plenty of time to make memories with her future pet.
Until Trew has a duck of her own, enjoy a dose of adorable with a video of pet ducklings noshing on some watermelon:
More about why Arisa Trew is capturing attention
Trew’s adorable (and unusual) post-victory request isn’t the only reason she’s been making the news. The Queensland teen also got a shout out from skateboarding legend Tony Hawk on social media following the conclusion of the event.
“Congratulations to @arisa_trew on her epic last run in women’s park finals this afternoon, landing her to a well-deserved gold medal,” he wrote in a post on Instagram. “Thanks to all of the competitors for pushing skateboarding into a new era of equality and inclusivity. And congrats to @cocona.hiraki & @skybrown [Sky Brown].”
This isn’t Trew’s first time being linked to Hawk, however. In June 2023, during his Vert Alert event in Salt Lake city, she became the first female skateboarder to successfully land a 720 during a competition. This trick involves completing two full rotations while the skater is in mid-air.
The skateboarder who made the trick famous? Hawk himself, who performed it for the first time in 1985.
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