This 13-year-old skateboarder just made history in front of Tony Hawk

Who is she? Arisa Trew is a 13-year-old surfer and skateboarder from Australia's Gold Coast.

• She recently made history at Tony Hawk's Vert Alert competition held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Trew became the first female skateboarder ever to land a 720 in a competition – it was also her first time ever landing the trick.

What's the big deal? For the uninitiated, a 720 is a skateboarding trick first pioneered by Tony Hawk in 1985; it requires the skater to complete two full rotations while in the air.

• This week marked the 20th anniversary of Hawk landing the world's first 900 – for you math wizards out there, that means he added another half rotation to his time spent up in the air. 

• Hawk was in the audience watching as Trew made history and went on to win the women's final. She also earned a portion of the $75,000 shared competition prize.
• Hawk's competition was part of an effort to revitalize vert skating – the kind of skateboarding that takes place on a ramp, or half pipe.
• After shuttering the category 13 years ago, the X Games is reintroducing a women's category for vert skating, where Trew has already qualified due to her performance at Vert Alert.
• One metric, from GoSkate, a skateboarding lesson resource, estimates that 40% of new skateboarders are women.

What are people saying?

Here's what Trew shared on Instagram after her feat:

And her coach, Trev Ward:

Plus, the man himself, Tony Hawk, on how Trew brought the house down:

Kim Woozy from Skate Like a Girl on the significance of Trew's accomplishment for their movement:

It just kind of shows us that we're nowhere near the limits.

I've seen the progression really ramp up in the past 5 to 10 years. And mainly that's because I believe that there is an infrastructure, and support and investment now for girls to skateboard and pursue skateboarding from a financial aspect or professional level.

I think every time there's a new sort of milestone check, including this one and there's other great examples as well, it's just an indication that this is absolutely just the beginning of what has been a movement that used to be a lot more unacknowledged or unseen.

So, what now?

• According to the Olympic World Skateboarding rankings, Trew is ranked 14th in the world in her division.
• Trew is seeking a spot on the Australian national skateboarding team for the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

Learn more:

• Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee to return to competition, with 2024 in their sights
• An Indigenous lacrosse team reclaims its native identity
• Hoop dreams of a Senegalese b-baller come true at Special Olympics

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