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Arisa Trew makes 'insane' history at 14 amid brutal Boomers heartbreak and cycling world record

Australia grabbed two more medals on Tuesday night at the Paris Olympics, but it was a devastating end for the Boomers.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·6-min read

Arisa Trew became Australia's youngest gold medallist in Olympics history and the Aussies broke the men's team pursuit world record at the velodrome, but it was absolute heartbreak for the Boomers basketball team on Tuesday night in Paris. At 14 years and 86 days, Trew won the women's park skateboarding event to eclipse Australia's previous youngest gold medallist - swimmer Sandra Morgan.

Morgan was 14 years and 184 days when she won gold as part of the women's 4x100m freestyle relay team at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956. But Trew outdid Morgan on Tuesday night and captured Australia's 14th gold medal of the Paris Games in the process.

Arisa Trew alongside fellow Aussie athletes at the Olympics.
Arisa Trew (centre) won gold in skateboarding, while the men's team pursuit team (L) broke the world record and the Boomers crashed out (R). Image: Getty

Sitting in the bronze medal position before her third and final run, coach Trevor Ward pulled her aside for a chat. She then produced a series of daring tricks highlighted by a 540 - one and a half rotations in midair - which thrilled the sold-out crowd at La Concorde in central Paris. Trew scored 93.18 to pip Japan's Cocona Kiraki (92.63) and Great Britain's Sky Brown (92.31) for the other medals.

"I got told by a few people that I'm Australia's youngest gold medallist, which is, like, pretty insane," Trew said afterwards. "And really cool, because that's, like, who I'm representing and, like, it's just amazing. It's just, like, super cool that I have won the gold medal because it has been like a dream. I'm just, like, so excited."

Kokona Hiraki, Arisa Trew and Sky Brown.
Kokona Hiraki, Arisa Trew and Sky Brown pose with their medals. (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Arisa Trew, pictured here after her insane performance at the Olympics.
Arisa Trew celebrates after her insane performance at the Olympics. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Trew is the youngest athlete on Australia's Olympic team in Paris and the nation's seventh-youngest Olympian ever. "It was just crazy and so exciting and I just, like, couldn't believe it when I, like, knew that I was the winner of the Olympics," she said.

"This being my first Olympics, it's just insane. I wasn't really nervous because it's just, like, I just needed to think that it's another skate comp. And just to have fun with all my friends and skate my best but, like, all I really wanted to do was land a solid run."

Australia also won a bronze medal on Tuesday night as Leigh Hoffman, Matthew Richardson and Matthew Glaetzer in the men's team sprint cycling event. But they were overshadowed as compatriots Sam Welsford, Kelland O'Brien, Conor Leahy and Oliver Bleddyn broke the men's team pursuit world record.

The foursome clocked four minutes 40.730 seconds to easily beat reigning Games champions Italy in their round-one heat. The previous world record was held by Italy at 3:42.032 - set at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The Aussies' stunning victory sets up a gold-medal ride on Wednesday night against Great Britain - Australia's long-time fierce rivals in the event.

Matthew Richardson, Leigh Hoffman and Matthew Glaetzer.
Matthew Richardson, Leigh Hoffman and Matthew Glaetzer won the bronze medal. )Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Oliver Bleddyn, Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Kelland O'Brien.
Australia's pursuit team of Oliver Bleddyn, Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Kelland O'Brien broke the world record. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)

But it wasn't all joy for Australia on Tuesday night as the Boomers were knocked out of the basketball competition by Serbia in the quarter-finals. Nikola Jokic starred as the World's No.2 side came from 24 points down to beat Australia 95-90 to reach the semis.

In what will likely be his last Olympics, Patty Mills scored 26 points and was immense for the Boomers, with the five-time Olympian hitting a clutch bucket to take the quarter-final to over-time. But reigning NBA MVP Jokic took control from there, producing two stops and two buckets to have the final say.

Matthew Dellavedova after the Boomers' loss to Serbia.
Matthew Dellavedova looks on after the Boomers' loss. (Photo by Pete Dovgan/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

It left the Aussie players shattered, with Channel 9 commentator Brenton Speed describing it as a "terrible" way for their campaign to end. Fans were also left heartbroken for the Boomers, especially Mills in what will almost certainly be his last Olympics. However some were critical of the result, saying the Boomers missing out on a medal "shouldn't happen" considering their star-studded roster.

Elsewhere, the women's water polo and beach volleyball teams both progressed to the semi-finals to give themselves a huge chance to win gold. The water polo Stingers overpowered Greece 9-6 to edge closer to their first title since the inaugural event at the Sydney Games in 2000.

Inspired by five goals from the outstanding Alice Williams, Bec Rippon's side are now one win away from making the podium in Paris. And the women's beach volleyball team of Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy were too good for Switzerland, winning 21-19, 16-21, 15-12 to progress. Artacho del Solar and Clancy won silver in Tokyo three years ago and will be hoping to go one better in Paris.

with AAP