Article courtesy of The West Australian.
Australia’s youngest gold medallist is heading straight back to school after revealing she gave up her business-class seat “with all the other medallists” on the charter flight home from France to sit with her friends in economy.
Arisa Trew secured her place in history when she won the skateboard park final and the 14-year-old declared she now wanted to get back to her local park as soon as possible.
“I just love going to school because it’s the skate park where I go to school, so I get to see all my friends that skate, that I skate with every day and train with, my coaches, the teachers,” she said.
“It’s just the best thing in the world.”
The returning athletes flew home on a chartered Qantas plane, with business class reserved for the large cohort of medallists, including Trew.
But the Gold Coast schoolgirl chose instead to stay with “my two best friends” and soak up the fun of the long ride home.
“Me and my friends are looking through the window and we’re like, ‘There’s a lot of people down there’,” she said. “Going to the Olympics was my goal since I was like 11. Watching the last Olympics when skateboarding first got introduced really inspired me.
“To go to the Olympics is crazy and then to win a gold medal was even more crazy. I’m so excited to be back and it’s really cool to see all these people around, it’s like knowing Australia is our family.”
