When skateboarders first competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 15-year-old Katie Pike was watching with wonder at home in Monash.
"I want to do that. I want to be there," she said pointing to the TV.
Pike got a skateboard for her birthday, and three years later, passed the first milestone in qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Her run (performance) won her 42nd place in the females qualifying event in Rome. She competed with more than 70 athletes aged between nine and 30.
"I didn't think I would get anywhere under 50," Pike said.
Since then, she has been grinding in preparation for her next qualifier challenge at Dubai's Park and Street competition at the end of this month.
"I'm just gonna go into it. I've trained hard," she said. "I really want to learn my runs and if I do and I don't make it, I'll still be really happy."
Pike took up skateboarding four years ago and has never had a coach. She skates everyday, learning and perfecting new tricks from skateboarders on Instagram, YouTube, and in real life.
She occasionally trains with Trevor Ward, a skateboarder with decades of experience, at the Gold Coast.
But most of Pike's experience comes from being in different bowls, in different cities, with 10 to 50-year-olds who freely impart tricks and techniques.
"The community in skating is just different to other sports [at the Olympics]," she said. "It's a really positive atmosphere, everyone's inclusive and just wants to help each other."
Dubai will be her last chance to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. If she succeeds she will be through to the final qualifying event in Shanghai, the last hurdle before Paris.
There will be 14 other skaters in Pike's heat, who will practise together for three days before they finally have a 45-second run each to show off their tricks.
"They'll just drop in on each other ... whoever gets in first tries to hold their space. It's fairly ferocious," mum Lindsey Pike said.
She's proud of her daughter for making it so far without a coach and with the resources available in Canberra. The family devotes some weekends to travel to Sydney for "proper training" at the newer skateparks there.
The 18-year-old works as a learning support assistant and was accepted to university this year, but deferred the degree until 2025 to chase her Olympic goal.
While the Scottish-born Australian is representing Great Britain at the grand event in Dubai, it seems like all of Canberra is behind her.
Pike's sponsors include Braddon's Trilogy Skateboards and Postal, a skateboard manufacturer in Canberra that has designed a signature board for the young gun. Friends and supporters have been buying the board to support Pike's journey. Her family said Postal was directing proceeds from the sales towards her travel costs.
Pike's friends Arisa Trew, 13, and Jada Ward, 15, both representing Australia, will meet her in Dubai. They will all be chasing a high ranking for the golden chance at the Olympics. Pike is keen to realise her dream and possibly become the youngest Olympian in the ACT.
