Generations collide as Aussie skaters Arisa Trew and Shane O’Neill given ticket to Paris Olympics

Murray Wenzel
AAP
Teenage world champion Chloe Covell is one of Australia's nine Paris Games skateboarders.
Teenage world champion Chloe Covell is one of Australia's nine Paris Games skateboarders. Credit: AAP

Arisa Trew and Shane O’Neill will bookend a nine-strong Australian skating team chasing Paris gold.

Twenty years separate the pair, 34-year-old statesman O’Neill back after being part of the sport’s Games debut in Tokyo and 14-year-old Trew set to be Australia’s youngest Olympian in 40 years.

Tokyo Park gold medallist Keegan Palmer returns to defend his title in good form, he and fellow park specialist Trew winning June’s Olympic qualifying series.

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Street skater Chloe Covell, also 14 but slightly older than Trew, won silver at last year’s world championship.

Tokyo Olympian Keiran Woolley (park) had fourth and sixth-placed finishes in the qualifying series while 15-year-old Ruby Trew - unrelated to Arisa - is also a park medal chance.

Haylie Powell, Liv Lovelace and Keefer Wilson will also make their debuts.

“I am beyond stoked to make my second Australian Olympic Team and represent the green and gold,” Woolley, fifth in Tokyo, said.

“The last few weeks have been super action-packed and I hopefully can keep the momentum going heading into Paris.”

Australia qualified nine of a maximum 12 spots, four more than in Tokyo and the fourth-largest skate team, behind the United States (12), Brazil (12) and Japan (10).

The competition will run from July 27-28 (street) and August 6-7 (park) in the heart of Paris at a transformed La Concorde.

AUSTRALIAN SKATEBOARDING TEAM

Shane O’Neill (street), Haylie Powell (street), Liv Lovelace (street), Chloe Covell (street), Keefer Wilson (park), Kieran Woolley (park), Keegan Palmer (park), Arisa Trew (park), Ruby Trew (park).

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