Kieran Woolley checks in with some news about what he’s been up to lately. Here’s an update from the man himself. 

Words by Kieran Woolley. 

As you probably know, I headed over to Tokyo and it was quite a trip.

Ten days out from the Olympics, I was in Southern California skating hard. I had a bit of a freakish fall on a front feeble in the deep. It was an unusual fall and super scary for a while. Initially, I thought I might have broken my leg. 

I went straight to the physio and doctor and got some things checked out. I had a couple of MRIs as we were trying to find out exactly what was wrong. In the end, it looked like I might have sprained a hip flexor muscle. The timing wasn’t great: I missed out on the last 10 days or so of practice, and I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to do when I got to Tokyo.

The day before I flew out, I needed to do a photoshoot and it was my first time on the board since I hurt myself. I was pretty frustrated as I couldn’t do much, but we did find a massive ditch to play in, which was a lot of fun. I had a nice dinner with Jack Fardell, his wife and my dad before being dropped off at the airport to head to the Olympics. 

Tokyo was pretty wild. It was crazy hot and humid, but it was also quite an adventure. The practice was pretty limited, which probably worked for my injury – I didn’t get a chance to overdo it. On the last day, my practice was horrible and I wasn’t feeling all that happy. 

Fortunately, on comp day, we had a quick warm-up in the morning and everything was working for me. In the semi-finals, I landed my first run, my easy run, and I was stoked to see that that put me in the lead. I ended up qualifying for the finals in second place, which was pretty wild. Oh, I also ran into a cameraman. 

The finals were on soon after. I failed my first run, which loaded the pressure on. The second run went to plan and put me up into fourth position. For the third run, I had one shot at a step-up run that would most likely place me on the podium. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be this time, but I ended up in fifth place behind some of the biggest names in park skateboarding which I am still very happy with, especially as the youngest skateboarder. I’m also stoked that Keegan took out the gold. It was a great start to park skateboarding in the Olympics for Australia! 

So what was the Olympics like? Well, there was a lot of waiting and not a lot of skating. There were a lot of COVID challenges, and the food was awesome. Overall, there was an amazing vibe, and it was great to be surrounded by so many elite athletes. The support was awesome. The Aussie [doctors] did everything they could to sort my injury out, and obviously, they did a great job! I reckon it would be pretty cool to do another Olympics, say in three years!

Given all the lockdown news in Australia and two weeks hotel quarantine, I wasn’t all that keen to head home. Fortunately, I was able to get a ticket back to the USA, so I’ve headed back there to skate, film, and avoid lockdown. Oh, and to sit my Year 12 HSC trial exams. 

Lots of people helped me get ready for the Olympics and I am extremely grateful to each and every one of them. I want to say a particular thank you to two people who contributed massively. Firstly, my dad. He travelled with me for the three months before the Olympics, drove me around, organised me and made things happen, and acted as a guide and sounding board along with generally looking out for me. He always has my back and helps me to be the best I can be. Secondly, Jack Fardell. He came into my world in the USA, became my mentor, mate, coach, defacto family and personal cheerleader. He inspired me to become more, and we had the best time skating together, pushing each other, and working on my preparation for Tokyo. They are both legends and mates and while they weren’t permitted to travel to Tokyo, they were there with me in spirit. 

Backside air. Photo by Greg Poissonnier.

In other news from the real world, a skate part I filmed over Christmas was released by Independent Trucks the day before my Olympic event. I’m really happy with it, and I need to say a massive thank you to Wade McLaughlin and Rhino for making this happen! I’m stoked to start filming a new part right now in the USA. 

There were thousands of news articles after the games mentioning me, but one of my favourites was this one about mental health on the Olympics website. 

Thanks for all the support, news articles, and well wishes from back home. It means a lot to me, and while I can’t reply to everything, I appreciate your support and well wishes!