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Arthur flying towards Lillehammer berth

 

Arthur flying towards Lillehammer berth

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AOC
Arthur flying towards Lillehammer berth

Emily Arthur was not your typical nine-year-old kid.

SNOWBOARD: Emily Arthur was not your typical nine-year-old kid.

While most children her age are busy learning their times tables, Arthur was dropping into an Olympic size halfpipe on the other side of the world.

Having taken up snowboarding when she was six, Arthur was identified as a future star of the sport just a couple of years later and was invited to head to Colorado with Australia’s development team.

“It was super scary at first and I didn’t go very high to start but I kept trying and all the coaches were really supportive and slowly got better at it," she said.

“I just loved it so much that I just wanted to keep getting better.”

Now 16, Arthur has gone from strength-to-strength in the sport and is pushing herself towards qualification for the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

“It would mean a lot to me because the Olympics is something that has always been a dream of mine since I was a kid.

“It would be really exciting getting to represent Australia, meeting everyone from all different countries and getting to listen to their stories about how they made it there as well.”

Currently ranked equal first in the Youth Olympic Games standings, the youngster from Woronora Heights needs to earn enough ranking points to remain in the top four if she is to guarantee a quota place for Australia in Lillehammer.

“I’m pretty confident (of making it to Lillehammer). I’ve gotten enough ranking points the past seasons so hopefully I can do it again.

“I’m currently 14th overall on this year’s (senior) rankings which is the highest I’ve been. Usually in the Revolution Tour events I make the finals, if not the podium and that gets me a fair amount of FIS points.”

Arthur has pushed herself to the top following some strong results in New Zealand which included a win at the Intercontinental Cup and ninth place at the Winter Games in Cadrona.

If she is successful in making the Australian Team for the second winter Youth Games she will be hoping her experience at the 2015 World Championships will hold her in good stead come February.

“It was super scary going over to the World Champs because it was my first time travelling to a different country with the Australian Team with likes of Torah Bright and Scotty James.

“All the pros were there and it was a super crazy feeling standing at the top knowing you were dropping right before Holly Crawford or someone like that.

“It was really nice to be there, the pipe was amazing and the energy was crazy with all the people there.

“It gave me a taste of what being a pro snowboarder was like and I just really hope I can do more events like that and have that same feeling over and over.”

Australia has had plenty of halfpipe success in recent years with Torah Bright claiming gold at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, before winning silver four years later.

“Ever since I was a kid I watched Torah at the X Games and when she won gold at the Olympics I got a phone call from my mum when I was at school.

“I’ve been lucky enough to travel with her and she is just super nice and has a really positive outlook on snowboarding.

"She is a great role model to have because she has done so much for the sport. Torah is amazing and I’ve always looked up to her.”

Arthur will head to Colorado in late November as she looks to book her ticket to Lillehammer 2016. 

The second edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games will be held from 12 to 21 February 2016 in Lillehammer, Norway.

Australia is hoping to be represented in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross country skiing, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey (skills challenge), luge, short track skating and snowboard.

Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au

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