A LOOK AT SOME OF AUSTRALIA'S BEST UNDER-21 ATHLETES FOR 2025

ARISA TREW (SKATEBOARDING)

Powered by the mystical mantra 'skibidi sigma', 14-year-old Arisa Trew became Australia's youngest Olympic gold medallist with her top-scoring run of 93.18 in the skateboarding park final at the Paris Games. The gold medal for Trew followed her winning this year's Laureus World Sports Award for Action Sportsperson of the Year. The first woman to land a 900 aerial spin, Trew - now the proud owner of duck Goldie - is expected to light it up at the 2025 X Games.

ELLA ROBERTS (AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL)

It may be the Harley Reid show on the West Coast but Australian rules fans would be mistaken to dismiss fellow young Eagles gun Ella Roberts. Pick No.14 in the 2022 AFLW draft, tall forward Roberts hit the ground running in her debut season with a Rising Star nomination and Mark of the Year contender. Averaging 21.4 disposals, 5.5 tackles, 3.5 clearances and 4.5 marks, the 20-year-old capped a career-best 2024 season with her first club champion title and All-Australian nod. Roberts looks set to further elevate her game for the 2025 season.

GOUT GOUT (ATHLETICS)

Faster than Usain Bolt at his age, 17-year-old Gout Gout is poised to take the world by storm - if he hasn't already. The Queenslander went viral in December after clocking 10.04 seconds wind-assisted in his 100m heat at the Australian All Schools Championships. He won the final in 10.17s before taking out the 200m in 20.04s, breaking Peter Norman's national 200m record from the 1968 Mexico Olympics by 0.02s. Should Gout continue on his trajectory, he could be an unstoppable force come the 2028 Los Angeles and 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

KAI ALLEN (SUPERCARS)

While most teenagers are enjoying life on their Ps, 19-year-old Kai Allen will be competing with the best in a Chevrolet Camaro for Supercars team Penrite Grove Racing. The youngest-ever Super2 champion, Allen will share the garage with 21-year-old Kiwi prodigy Matt Payne, the youngest line-up on the grid. Allen was thrown in the deep end at the Adelaide 500 after Richie Stanaway was ruled out with concussion.

LACHLAN GALVIN (RUGBY LEAGUE)

The emergence of 19-year-old five-eighth Lachlan Galvin was the best thing to happen to the NRL's Wests Tigers in 2024, their third year in a row finishing last on the ladder. The South-West Sydney product would have almost certainly won Dally M Rookie of the Year if not for a suspension and is poised for a big second season partnering marquee recruit Jarome Luai in the halves. Will the duo be the catalyst to rouse the beleaguered joint venture from the doldrums?

MOLLIE O'CALLAGHAN (SWIMMING)

Australia's new golden girl is just getting started. At 20, freestyler Mollie O'Callagan was the nation's most successful athlete at the Paris Olympics with three gold medals, a silver and a bronze. She won two golds as a relay heat swimmer at the 2020 Tokyo Games, and is already just shy of the now-retired swimmer Emma McKeon's career haul of six gold.

NESTORY IRANKUNDA (FOOTBALL)

Former A-League Men phenom Nestory Irankunda has been busy. The 18-year-old finished the 2023/24 season with eight goals and nine assists for Adelaide United before making his Socceroos debut and completing a move to Bayern Munich. Irankunda has impressed in 15 appearances for Bayern's reserves with four goals but he has yet to break into the senior side. The winger was an unused substitute in their 5-1 UEFA Champions League win over Shakhtar Donestk in December. So tenacious is Irankunda that he has sought a loan move away from Bayern. "I have to be playing, I can't keep playing under-23's every week," he told Paramount Plus.

ROCCO ZIKARSKY (BASKETBALL)

A giant man with giant prospects, 220cm-tall Rocco Zikarsky is Australia's most highly-prized basketball big man since Andrew Bogut. The 18-year-old has spent two seasons with the Brisbane Bullets as part of the NBL's Next Star program, designed to help elite prospects prepare for nomination in the NBA draft. He signed his first NBL deal at 16 and is projected to become just the second Australian NBL Next Star - after Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey - to be selected with a first-round pick in the NBA draft this winter.

SAM KONSTAS (CRICKET)

Konstas stopped the nation with a staggeringly confident and audacious debut Test innings at the MCG on Boxing Day, sending India's talismanic pace star Jasprit Bumrah all around the ground with an array of creative shots. The ramp looks to be his favourite. With that half-century, the 19-year-old opener began laying the groundwork for a long Test career to come. He promises to have a big role in keeping the longest format relevant for the next generation of Australian players and fans in an era of big-money T20 franchise deals.

TELAYA BLACKSMITH (ATHLETICS)

The 16th known Indigenous athlete to feature for Australia at the Paralympic Games, runner and long jumper Telaya Blacksmith set an Australian record in the T20 400m, clocking 57.96 seconds to qualify for the final. Placing eighth in the 400m and ninth in the women's T20 long jump, the 17-year-old is a star in the making. Beyond track and field, the Warlpiri woman is also a Sydney Swans academy athlete and is eyeing a spot in the 2025 AFLW draft.