BUENOS AIRES 2018: Two triathletes and two roller speed skaters have been announced as the newest members of the 2018 Australian Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Team, taking the current Team size to 59 athletes from 18 sports.

Charlotte Derbyshire and Josh Ferris will don the green and gold in triathlon, while Giselle Stogdale and Alexander Myint will glide their way around the track in speed skating.

17-year-old Derbyshire started triathlon at the age of 13 after she “naturally progressed” from swimming, athletics and surf lifesaving.

“I joined Marion Swimming Club at age 10 and then I joined Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club when I was 11 and then Flinders Athletics Club when I was 12, so I really kind of naturally progressed into triathlon,” the Adelaide local said.

“I was a bit daunted at first about adding the bike into it all, but I love cycling now. Joining swimming, surf and running early really set me up for triathlon and set the training standards right from the start.”

The three-time Australian Junior National Series winner said she’s most looking forward to putting her skills to the test against the world’s best triathletes, as she has only previously compared herself to Oceania’s best.

“I've only ever raced overseas once in New Zealand against girls in the region, so the exposure to great athletes from all over the world will be great. 

“My strongest leg in the triathlon has always been the run and if I enter the run leg behind, I focus on chasing everyone down. My background is middle distance running so the sprint distance triathlon and relay are perfect for this.”

Similarly, her Australian teammate Ferris also prefers the third leg, and says that will be his advantage over his fellow competitors.

“My strongest leg would be the run although I am very consistent on all three legs and I’m willing to work super hard,” Ferris said.

“I’ve been doing triathlon since I was eight years-old but started competitive competition in 2014. The biggest factor which has helped with my progression through the sport would be consistency in training and enjoying all aspects.”

Derbyshire and Ferris will compete in the individual event, which includes a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run, before having the chance to join athletes from other countries in the mixed-gender triathlon relay.

With 14 Australian records to her name and three World Championships experiences under her belt, Giselle Stogdale will be hoping to add Youth Olympic glory to her list of accolades when roller speed skating makes its Youth Olympic debut at Buenos Aires.

Roller speed skating was a demonstration sport at the 2014 YOG in Nanjing and will feature on the programme for the first time in 2018 as a sport that fits well with local youth culture in Argentina.

The YOG format will see all inline skaters competing in the combined speed discipline, which involves a 500m sprint, 1000m sprint and 5000m elimination.

At the 2018 Inline Skating Youth Would Championships in the Netherlands, Stogdale secured a 20th place finish in the 500m sprint and placed 29th and 30th respectively in the 1000m sprint and 5000m elimination; securing her spot on the 2018 YOG Team.

Myint won two gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the 2018 Oceania Inline Speed Skating Championships in Timaru, New Zealand in March before he headed to the Netherlands for a four-week training program with Winter Olympic coach Desley Hills; who has coached speed skater Daniel Greig to two Winter Olympic Games, including PyeongChang 2018.

16-year-old Myint, who current owns six national titles, usually focuses on the long distance events, such as the 10km road race and speed skating half marathon, however has moved his focus to the short distances for the Youth Olympics.

Triathlon and roller speed skating will be contested at the Green Park venue in Buenos Aires. The 2018 Youth Olympic Games run 6-18 October 2018.

Discover more about Australia’s Team and the Games HERE.

Selected Australian athletes for Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games
Roller Speed Skating
Josh Ferris (17), Ebenezer, NSW
Charlotte Derbyshire (17), Adelaide, SA

Triathlon
Alexander Myint (16), Bassendean, WA
Giselle Stogdale (17), Malvern East, VIC

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au