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Posted: 2024-03-30 21:35:45

Australia's youngest-ever Olympic medal winner has held her title for 68 years, but two teenage Queensland skateboarding prodigies have their eyes set on toppling the record.

Sandra Morgan-Beavis and Arisa Trew are generations apart, but their respective journeys to Olympic Games success have some clear parallels.

Sandra Morgan-Beavis smiling in the water in a black and white photo

Olympic swimmer Sandra Morgan-Beavis at 14.(Supplied: Sandra Morgan-Beavis)

Both top international athletes were inspired by role models in their pre-teen years.

For Morgan-Beavis, a speech by Australian sprinter Marjorie Jackson-Nelson ignited a passion that led her to her winning a gold medal with the women's 4x100m freestyle relay team at the 1956 Melbourne games.

She was just 14 at the time.

Trew remembers gathering with friends around the television to watch skateboarding's debut at the 2021 Olympic Games.

Gold Coast 13-year-old skateboarder Arisa Trew at Level Up Academy in Currumbin Waters

Skateboarder Arisa Trew, 13, is aiming to break an Australian 68-year-old Olympic record.(ABC News: Jessica Lamb)

"I was like, I really want to be there … I just want to do that so much," she said.

Within three years, the 13-year-old skater was landing tricks no other woman in the world could do.

The Gold Coast teen made history at last year's X-Games when she became the first female ever to land a "720" — a challenging move that involves two full mid-air rotations — and took home two gold medals.

Currently ranked 11th in the world, Trew is preparing for two more competitions to cement her place among the top 20 park skaters who will qualify for the Paris Olympic Games later this year.

Arisa Trew competition in Dubai an Olympic qualifying event in March 2024.

Arisa Trew is landing tricks no other woman in the world can do, at just 13 years old.(Supplied: Trew Photography)

"Park" competitions take place on a course consisting of a hollowed-out concrete bowl, with several different elements including ramps, quarter pipes, and bumps.

"Something drastic would have to happen for her not to make the Olympics," Trevor Ward, Trew's coach, said.

Swimmers Sandra Morgan-Beavis, Dawn Fraser, Lorraine Crapp and Faith Leech in a black and white photo.

Australia's 1956 Olympics 4x100m freestyle gold medal winning team, inlcuding Sandra Morgan-Beavis, Dawn Fraser, Lorraine Crapp and Faith Leech.(Supplied: Sandra Morgan-Beavis)

Beyond that, Trew's goal is to break the medal record set by Morgan-Beavis.

"My ultimate goal for the Olympics is a gold medal, or a podium … I just have to train really hard," she said.

With her birthday in May, Trew will be 14 at the Paris Games, but three months younger than Morgan-Beavis was when she won gold in 1956.

Next generation dominating ranks

Most of Australia's Olympic skateboarding hopefuls are under 18, and the trend of much younger competitors has emerged since coach Ward was a pro skater.

A man in a skateboarding facility smiling

Gold Coast former pro skateboarder turned coach Trevor Ward.(ABC News: Jessica Lamb)

"Some of it is the fear factor, they're able to make it and get better really fast compared to older people," he said.

"You get to a point within your skating career, where you ask yourself, 'Do I want to hurt myself to push myself that much further?'"

Ward said skateboarding's inclusion in the Olympics boosted participation in the sport and retired pro-skateboarders were now coaching the next generation.

"It really is different than when I went through, I didn't turn pro until I was 23, whereas kids are phenomenal at the age of 10," he said.

"These kids just see everything on the internet and then they just do it … whereas when I was a kid, we had to wait months for the magazines to come from the USA to Australia."

Gold Coast 13-year-old skateboarder Arisa Trew at Level Up Academy in Currumbin Waters

Arisa Trew training at Level Up Academy in Currumbin Waters on the Gold Coast.(ABC News: Jessica Lamb)

Olympic dream on cusp of reality

Fellow Gold Coast skater Chloe Covell, 14, is another local hoping to break the country's long-standing Olympic medal record.

Olympic hopeful Chloe Covell, 14, at Tugun Skatepark in the Gold Coast.

Chloe Covell is a World Skateboarding Tour silver medallist after a career-best performance in the semi-finals in Dubai in March 2024.(ABC News: Jessica Lamb)

A few months older than Trew, the Tweed Heads local is fourth in the qualifying rankings in the "street" event, which focuses more on using an urban environment as a playground to do tricks on obstacles like stairs, ledges, curbs and handrails.

Olympic hopeful Chloe Covell, 14, at Tugun Skatepark in the Gold Coast.

Chloe Covell's recent score of 93.49 while competing in Dubai was the highest run score in World Skateboarding Tour history.(ABC News: Jessica Lamb)

"When I was a kid and started to do skating and got better and better, I definitely did hope to go to the Olympics one day," Covell said.

"Now that my dream could come true … it's super amazing and exciting to think about," she said.

"I'm pretty confident because I'm in a good place."

Olympic hopeful Chloe Covell, 14, at Tugun Skatepark in the Gold Coast.

Chloe Covell is ranked fourth heading into the next two qualifying rounds for the Olympics.(ABC News: Jessica Lamb)

A full-circle journey

Morgan-Beavis said winning an Olympic medal at 14 was "indescribable" and had a huge impact on the rest of her life.

Sandra Morgan-Beavis being interviewed on television after her Olympic gold medal win in 1956.

Sandra Morgan-Beavis being interviewed on television after her Olympic gold medal win in 1956.(Supplied: Sandra Morgan-Beavis)

"It made me grow up very quickly," she said.

"My advice for [younger Olympians] is enjoy it and don't allow other people's opinions to get you off track. Sometimes people can be cruel with their words, just don't listen to them."

Morgan-Beavis said dealing with detractors in the Australian team, who resented her being in the final because of her age, was difficult.

"Even when I was walking down the causeway to go to my race, I was told 'this is on your head' … it was a big responsibility," she said.

Olympic gold medallist Sandra Morgan-Beavis with her grandson Callum Greentree

Sandra Morgan-Beavis with her grandson Callum Greentree under her plaque at Sydney Olympic Park.(Supplied: Sandra Morgan-Beavis)

After winning gold, Morgan-Beavis met Marjorie Jackson-Nelson and told her about the inspiration she'd drawn from her speech all those years before.

The champion swimmer said that "beautiful moment" had encouraged her to influence the next generation.

"I often think about that … it's one of the things I've always liked doing. I always like to inspire younger athletes because someone did that to me," Morgan-Beavis said.

The Australian Olympic Committee said only three 13-year-old athletes have ever competed in the green and gold.

Ian Johnston competed in rowing in 1960, while swimmers Tracey Wickham represented Australia in 1976 and Jo-Anne Barnes in 1968.

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