From Sydney gold to shaping the next generation
This week, almost 26 years on, she is looking to the next generation.
Speaking at the QAS Team Huddle, Lambert reflected on ...
From receiving her first skateboard for her third birthday to representing Australia at just 13, Cora Wilton is preparing to take her skating from Agnes Water in regional Queensland to the world stage.
The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS)-supported street skateboarder is heading to Paraguay for the upcoming World Skate Games, where she will join fellow QAS-supported athletes Keegan Palmer, Chloe Covell, Phoenix Sinnerton, Coco Crafter and Ella Leddingham.
For Cora, skateboarding began almost as soon as she could properly get around on a board.
“I first started skateboarding when I got my first cruiser board for my third birthday,” Cora said.
“I really like skating in my hometown because the skate park’s really close to home. My first ever competition was in Mackay, and I was five at the time.”
Ten years after receiving that first cruiser board, the Agnes Water teenager is now preparing to wear the green and gold against some of the world’s best skateboarders.
While the stage may be getting bigger, Cora’s approach to preparing for it remains straightforward.
“My preparation for the World Skate Games is pretty simple. I skate every day and work out every second day,” she said.
“The thing I’m most excited about in Paraguay is skating the course and getting all my hard tricks.”
For Cora, joining athletes of elite calibre on the international stage represents another significant step in a journey that started at her local skate park.
“Being selected to represent Australia at the World Skate Games is very cool,” Cora said.
Like many young skateboarders, Cora has also drawn inspiration from watching some of the sport’s best, naming Japanese skateboarder Momiji Nishiya and American Jamie Foy among her favourites.
“I really like how Momiji’s style is so effortless, and how Jamie Foy just skates gnarly,” she said.
But Cora is already looking beyond Paraguay.
Her next ambition is a big one, and one that could ultimately take the young Queenslander from Agnes Water to an even bigger international stage.
“My short-term goal is making it into the Australian Olympic Team,” Cora said.
At just 13, there is plenty of road ahead. For now, the focus is Paraguay, representing Australia and putting down the hard tricks she has been practising back home in regional Queensland.
