2 hours ago
1
On the towering slopes of Livigno in Italy on Sunday, 16-year-old Australian Ally Hickman was a green and gold blur, securing herself a spot in the Olympic women’s snowboard slopestyle final.
She will compete for a medal in the finals on Tuesday – but thousands of kilometres away at her Sydney high school, the teenager is already a legend.
Around the school, Ally is everywhere: there are massive cardboard cutouts of her face and giant yellow letters spelling out her name.
Commentators sang Ally’s praises as she cleared jumps, glided along rails and spun through the air. But back at St Clare’s college, her classmates and teachers are some of her biggest fans – and say she remains down to earth.
“She was such a quiet year 7 and still had all the potential to be this amazing Olympian,” said Ally’s teacher and house leader, Louise Armstrong. “She is still so humble now and when she returns to school, she just comes back and is straight in.”
Ally has not been in a classroom since the start of term 4 – she traded textbooks for pre-Olympic training, including overseas in Whistler, Canada.
Her proud friends – Gabby Rowley, Zara Tobin, Evangeline Piromalli and Millie Scurry – have been bridging the distance via text and FaceTime.
The group last saw her for her birthday in late December and said the teenage athlete generally spends two terms at school each year.
They say Ally seemed “really chill” about making it to the Olympic finals, telling them: “I’m not nervous, I’m just excited.”
“It doesn’t feel real,” Evangeline says. “I think we’ve only all just clocked that she’s actually there.”
Millie says Ally has “got the natural talent for it”.
“I remember when we were little I’d go to her house and hear that she’s going to the snow,” she says. “I wouldn’t have thought then that she’d be here, it’s crazy to see how far she’s come from such a young age.”
“She’s trained so much for it and she’s accomplished a lot,” Gabby says.
“Just like wow, seeing her on the big TV with all the people from around the world, it’s pretty amazing,” Zara says.
Athletes can face a huge financial burden to go to the Olympics, and the school community has rallied around Ally, turning their excitement into tangible support.
On Friday, the school held a mufti day and traded their traditional uniforms for a sea of green and gold.
On Monday, the school replayed Ally’s Sunday Olympic run over a large screen in the quad, with treats and drinks on sale to raise funds for her out-of-pocket competition expenses.
Competing in the women’s snowboard slopestyle, Ally navigated a course where riders are judged on how they handle a variety of features, including rails and jumps.
Her opening run scored 71.41 and as the wind picked up during the second run, challenging seasoned athletes, that score held firm, allowing her to finish the heats in sixth place – comfortably securing her spot in the top 12 for the final.
She finished ahead of fellow Australians Mela Stalker and Tess Coady, who finished 22nd and 27th respectively with scores of 47.36 and 38.95.
After qualifying for the finals, she said: “I’m so happy, it was such an amazing event.
“First run, I was just trying to keep it safe, just laying a score on the board,” she said. “For the finals, I want to land my best run – the run that I’ve been dreaming about for a while now.”
The school’s principal, Ann Freeman, says: “St Clare’s college is proud of all of our students, but particularly of Ally’s achievements. We wish her all the best.”
On Tuesday night at 11pm (AEDT), while most of Sydney is heading to bed, Ally’s classmates will eagerly watch her compete in the finals.
Whatever the scoreboard says, to the girls in the St Clare’s quad, Ally has already made it.
