Kieran Woolley

Like many skateboarders, it was an early love between surfing and skating that occupied most of Kieran's leisure time. Kieran’s dad built him a halfpipe in the backyard when he was 10-years-old and from there skating took over.

Three years later Kieran was nationally ranked at age 13 after competing in the U16s division and winning King on Concrete St Kilda, King on Concrete Newcastle, and the Skate Park League NSW Finals.

In 2017 Kieran was crowned Australian Junior Bowl riding champion. Success continued in the open division, when at just 14-years-old Kieran placed sixth at the Continental Cup Global Series.

A year later Kieran placed fourth at the Oceania Continental Championships. His impressive rise in the world of skateboarding saw the Wollongong native named Illawarra's 2018 Athlete of the Year.

In 2019 during an Olympic qualifier Kieran unfortunately broke his wrist. Three nights after he got his original wrist cast he fractured his other wrist. Despite this, Kieran still competed at the Australian Park Skateboarding Nationals in Gympie, finishing runner-up while wearing two wrist braces.

Once at Tokyo 2020 Kieran made an immediate impact, posting the second-highest score in qualifying to progress to the final and stun the skateboarding world in the process.

In the final, Kieran scored 82.04, just 2.09 points away from a podium finish, and ended the event in fifth position.

He is perhaps best remembered for coming off a rail at the top of the skate bowl at an awkward angle and ploughing into a cameraman. The cameraman continued to film as he lay sprawled on the ground and Kieran immediately checked if he was OK, offering a fist bump. A thumbs-up suggested there was no real damage done.

Kieran had a big year in 2022, which began in April when he won silver in park at the X Games Chiba in Japan. He went one better the X Games in California, winning gold in park ahead of American sensation Gavin Bottger.

He was also awarded a Tier 3 scholarship under the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.

At the World Park Skateboarding Championships in Sharjah, he finished fourth in the final with 89.50 points – just 0.5 off the podium.

After dealing with a series of injuries in 2023, Kieran put in two superb runs to finish fourth at an Olympic qualifying event in Shanghai, China, in May 2024.