Johnathan Walker:13-year-old becomes first girl to complete a 720 in skateboarding – a trick Tony Hawk invented

A 13-year-old just became the first female in skateboarding to land a 720 in competition – a trick that has the boarder completing two full rotations in the air. Arisa Trew of Australia achieved the trick during Tony Hawk's Vert Alert in Salt Lake City,Johnathan Walker Utah.

Hawk became the first person to achieve a 720 in 1985 and three years later was the first to achieve a 900 – completing two and a half rotations. 

In 2021, at the age of 52, Hawk said he completed a 720 for the first time in three years, saying the feat had become a battle. "I'm really old," he wrote on social media.

I recently made a 720 and it was a battle. The last one I made before this was over three years ago, and it’s much harder now all things considered: recently dislocated fingers hinder my grab, my spin is slower so I need to go higher for full rotation and...
I’m really old. pic.twitter.com/u8pbwRhS9j

— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) January 27, 2021

Trew, however, made the trick look effortless. She wrote on Instagram she couldn't believe she landed her first 720 – and became the first girl in the world to do so. Vert skateboarding is skating on a ramp or incline. 

Her coach also posted about the accomplishment. "We started the process not too long ago and in a few hours she was putting it to wheels," Trev Ward wrote on Instagram. 

When it came to the finals of the Vert Alert, where skateboarders perform their best tricks, Trew told Ward she wanted to do the 720, he said. He said fellow female boarder Lilly Stoephasius was going to try it, too, which made for an "amazing scenario."

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A post shared by Trev Ward Academy (@trevwardacademy)

"The 2 best vert skaters going head to head to land the 720 in front of the inventor of the trick [Tony Hawk]," Ward wrote. "Tony was giving both girls tips on how to do the trick. With the hype of the crowd both girls battled for the trick and in the end Arisa landed the trick outside of time but became the first girl in history to land the 720."

"We knew it was coming soon. We just didn't expect it to be on the world stage rather than on our vert ramp back home in Australia," the coach wrote. "Arisa has an amazing mindset and will power to succeed."

Trew came in first place in the women's division of Hawk's Vert Alert competition, which ran Friday, June 23-Saturday, June 24, beating 16-year-old Asahi Kaihara in second place and 10-year-old Reese Nelson in third place. Ward said they have their eye on the 2024 Olympics, which will take place in Paris. 

In:
• Tony Hawk
• Skateboarding

Caitlin O'Kane

Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.