Illawarra snowboarder has sights firmly set on Beijing Olympics

An avid snowboarder, Stratten is coming off the best year of her junior career. It was a year in which she finished fourth overall on points at the United States Nationals in Colorado and finished second in the halfpipe and first in the freestyle event at the New Zealand Nationals in Cardrona.

She then rounded out the year by winning gold at the Minipipe World Championships.

It was also a year that reaffirmed the 16-year-old’s commitment to achieving her goal of representing Australia at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. 

“I was very surprised with how well I went this year,” Stratten said. “I didn’t think I was capable of that, I’m very happy with that.

“I trained really hard, I was determined to do well. Every day when I was training, I was first on the lift and last off the hill at the end of the day.

“It really paid off when the competitions came around. I had new tricks up my sleeve, did them really clean, and did the best I could do.”

While she has clearly shown her prowess on the minipipe, it’s the full halfpipe that Stratten hopes to conquer in the future. 

“The 22 foot is the full Olympic pipe and that’s my main focus moving forward. I just really like the feeling of airing out, spinning in the air, there’s a different feeling to the jumps.

“It’s really great when you air out really big, it feels like you’re being like Shaun White.”

Shaun White isn’t the only athlete Stratten looks up to, with the Kiama resident also idolising Australian Olympic gold medalist Torah Bright, a snowboarder she has been fortunate enough to meet.

“I’ve actually met her a couple of times, she’s a family friend through my cousins.

“Her personality is great, the way she takes on competitions and training, she has a great mindset. I try to copy that when training and competing as well.”