Four Australian teenagers are hours from a thrilling Winter Olympics debut at Beijing and brimming with nervous anticipation.
One of the 43 elite athletes – including 19 debutants – in the Australian team is 16-year-old Valentino Guseli from Dalmeny on the far south coast of NSW.
The halfpipe snowboarder said he was "stoked" to qualify, especially after almost missing out.
After taking a couple of falls, the teen sensation successfully made a comeback just in time to qualify for Beijing 2022.
He said he was relieved to qualify for the games after performing well at the Laax Open in Switzerland last month.
"That feeling of the pressure just being released was pretty nice, for sure," Guseli said.
As the youngest athlete on the Australian team, Guseli says he is aiming for a personal best performance.
"To make finals would be awesome and, yeah, there's always the goal to win," he said.
"I'm just going out and really doing my expression of art."
Jindabyne represented
Among the mix of Australian athletes set to compete in their first Olympic Games is Jindabyne snowboarder Josie Baff who recently turned 19-years-old.
The 2020 Youth Olympic gold medallist said while some people were surprised to see athletes perform well at "such a young age", experience was important in a discipline like snowboard cross.
"[Experience] really pays in our sport," she said.
As a female rider, Baff says she feels respected in the sport and equal to male competitors.
"We are very fortunate we have equal prize money and on the [snowboard cross] team it's a really good dynamic," she said.
Like other athletes, Baff's main goal for Beijing 2022 is to do her best and soak in the special moment.
"I don't like putting a number on it," Baff said.
Another Jindabyne teenager en route to her Olympic debut is 19-year-old freestyle skier Abi Harrigan, who is set to compete in slopestyle and halfpipe.
Meanwhile 18-year-old cross-country skier Hugo Hinckfuss, a Queenslander who trains at Perisher Ski Resort, is also ready to compete for Olympic gold.
