By Abbey Cannan
Sunrise Beach local Freddie Arnold is taking skating to the extreme as he smashes national skateboarding competitions at just 13 years of age.
The Sunshine Beach High School student recently won National Under 16 Competitions in Newcastle, Mackay and Melbourne and came in second place at the Gold Coast.
With skateboarding now forming part of the Olympics, his dream is to qualify for the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
“I think that it is amazing that skating is in the Olympics,“ Freddie said.
“Many have the idea that skaters just hang around skate parks causing trouble. It will show the world how hard skaters work, and that they are athletes who practise just as hard as other sports people.
“It might also help the Australian Councils agree that better and bigger skate parks are an important sports facility to have in their town.“
After getting his first skateboard for Christmas just three years ago, Freddie has practised daily at his local skatepark.
“I love having fun with skating and meeting lots of people of all ages,“ he said.
“My favourite part is learning new tricks and then being able to use them as part of a run in competitions.“
Freddie has received amazing support from his school, who allow him time off to train and compete nationally.
He said his biggest achievement was winning the U16 National Skate Competition in Mackay and landing a 540 trick on the Mega ramp, a 27ft ramp in Victoria.
“My future goals are to keep training hard and competing across Australia. I would love to go to California to skate with some of the best in the world,“ he said.
“I look up to Clay Kriener as he is a great skater and role model.“
