These bright young stars are changing the world!
SKY BROWN
Twitter: @TeamGB
At just 13 years old (yes, you read that right), Sky Brown has won a bronze medal for skateboarding at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics! Her amazing achievement makes her Team GB’s youngest EVER medallist, and we couldn’t be prouder.
Sky and her younger brother, Ocean, have been skateboarding since they were old enough to hold a board. She learned skateboarding tricks from YouTube – proof that you don’t always need expensive tutors and coaches to become a world-class athlete.
Sky started competing at just eight years old and became the world’s youngest professional athlete at 10. She’s a massive success online too – she has a million followers on her Instagram account [LINK TO IT HERE: https://www.instagram.com/skybrown/?hl=en] and 289k subscribers on the YouTube channel she shares with her brother. [LINK TO IT HERE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjlQ_TVPXJFILEC7eANNGzg] So, the next time someone tells you skateboarding is a waste of time and it’ll never get you anywhere in life, show them a pic of Sky with her bronze medal! You can do anything when you put your mind to it.
MARCUS RASHFORD
Instagram: @marcusrashford
Marcus has been hitting the headlines over and over again for the past year – and for all the right reasons. The 23-year-old footballer uses his platform to make a real difference to food poverty, racism and homelessness in the UK. He pushed for the government to continue their free school meals into the school holidays, making sure children wouldn’t go hungry during the toughest months of the pandemic.
Marcus has become a national hero through his kind actions, generous spirit, and his dedication to fighting against racism and inequality. He’s someone we all look up to and admire, so when he received racist hate and abuse for missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final, the country stood up and fought back alongside him. Messages of support covered his social media feeds and flowers and cards were placed at a mural of Marcus to show the racists that they will never win. Together, we are stronger and there is no place for racism in this world.
GRETA THUNBERG
Greta’s no stranger to speaking out against powerful political leaders. So when she was invited along to Climate Crisis Transcript Earth Day 2021 to once again make a speech to world leaders, the world expected a no-nonsense, passionate argument for why action to stop climate change is needed now – and she didn’t disappoint…
Greta urged world leaders by saying, “Well, what I’m here to say is that unlike you, my generation will not give up without the fight.” She then went on to say that there is still time for leaders to make the right choices to make a difference to climate change. Greta finished her speech by reminding leaders that, “We, the young people, are the ones who are going to write about you in the history books. We are the ones who get to decide how you will be remembered. So my advice for you is to choose wisely. Thank you.”
Take a bow, Greta! We thank you for bringing awareness to such an important issue and your reminder that young voices really can make a difference.
TOM DALEY & MATTY LEE
This inspiring duo made a real splash at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when they landed gold medals for synchronised diving. After four Olympics, Tom finally landed a much-deserved gold medal, proof if you ever need it that hard work and persistence pays off. He refused to give up, despite the knock-backs over the years, and he came back stronger than ever with the amazing Matty Lee as his diving partner.
Tom’s also a massive inspiration to the LGBTQ community. After winning his medal, he said, “I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion., and I feel very empowered by that because when I was younger, I thought I was never going to achieve anything because of who I was. I hope that any young person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone. That you can achieve anything.”
What a star! The UK is lucky to have such inspiring, incredible athletes like Tom and we congratulate him and Matty for their spectacular win. Gold medals for guys with hearts of gold!
