Fifteen-year-old rock climber Angie Scarth-Johnson of Mt Victoria has been climbing since she was seven, but in less than 10 months, she hopes to scale the biggest goal of her life - a place in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Sports climbing is one of the newest events at the 2020 Summer Olympics and for this Olympics at least, requires excellence in three climbing disciplines - boulder, speed and lead.
Angie is fresh from competing in the International Federation of Sport Climbing Youth World Championships in Arco, Italy where she came fourth in bouldering and seventh overall - earning her a spot in the national qualifiers next March.
"It was a nice shock," she said.
She can't compete against any adults in open competitions because she is under-aged.
"It's a big disadvantage. I had to ask for special permission because I am still 15 for the qualifiers, but 16 in time for the Olympics. I'll be the youngest competitor trying to qualify," she said.
At age nine Angie became the youngest to send a grade 31 (outdoor climbing), a year later she was the youngest to send a grade 32/33. Earlier this year she managed a career best of 34 in Spain.
With big sponsors, including North Face and JLL real estate, she may have one edge on her adult competitors. JLL has given her a "superhero climbing body suit" - the only one any Australian athlete will have - as well as specialist training from a British climbing guru.
"The wires [sensor technology] in the suit send data of my movement to a computer that I can replay ... I can check what I'm doing wrong."
Angie has attended Blackheath and Mt Victoria public schools and Kindlehill for high school, but is now home-schooled, so she can train six days a week across gyms in Sydney and the Mountains.
Ian Dunn, a British coach who has been working with the young athlete, recently told National Geographic there is a big leap for young climbers to adult competition but "if Angie puts the work in, the sky's the limit".
She will move to Austria in November and spend Christmas there with her mother while she trains with the Austrian team's climbing coach.
Angie said she hopes both her and Blue Mountains climber and TV ninja Tom O'Halloran get the only two, highly coveted male and female climbing spots.
"I absolutely hope me and Tom make it."
To see Angie in action go to https://www.jll.com.au/en/campaign/achieveambitions
