Skateboarder Ethan Copeland could become Australia's youngest Olympian in Tokyo

Copeland could become the youngest athlete on the Australian Olympic team if he qualifies for the inaugural skateboarding park event next year.

The pint-sized Canberran is no stranger to competing against skaters who are far older and more experienced than him.

He qualified for the Bowl-a-rama competition at 10, becoming the youngest ever competitor at Bondi's invitation-only event.

The talented teenager has since trained alongside American pro-skater Tony Hawk and competed against his own idol, Pedro Barros.

"It's surreal. It's like 'wow', I'm competing against people I've looked up to since I was a little kid," Copeland said.

"All the top competitors are people I've looked up to and I've watched their skate videos, so it's pretty cool to be competing against them now. There's so many but Pedro Barros is the main one.

"There's a huge mixture of skaters [at the Olympic qualifying competitions]. Some of the older legends, there's a lot of kids my age and then people in their 20s, like Barros.

"There's not really too much pressure because I'm competing against the best in the world and they're a lot older than me."

Only 20 athletes can qualify for the new Olympic event, with a maximum quota of three per country.

Copeland is the third-highest ranked Australian at No.37 on the world Olympic rankings as of November, sitting behind teenagers Keegan Palmer (No.5) and Kieran Woolley (No.25).

There are 13 skateboarders from the United States and nine from Brazil ranked higher than Copeland, meaning he jumps 16 places to No.21 on the current qualifying list.

There are four qualifying events remaining ahead of Tokyo, including the park world championships in Nanjing this year.

"[Qualifying] is my biggest goal at the moment and it would be a very cool experience," Copeland said.

It would be pretty amazing - even just to go and watch the other disciplines would be very cool. Being in that sort of venue is pretty exciting."

Skateboarding is one of five sports added specifically for the Tokyo Games, joining softball, karate, sport climbing and surfing.

There will be two disciplines at the Olympics, with park consisting of small ramps and obstacles, and street which is rails and stairs.

"I think its going to be a great thing for skateboarding, it will bring more people to the sport," Copeland said.

The Alfred Deakin High School student has had to put his studies on hold while he travels the world in pursuit of his Tokyo dream.

He spent the last week of term in 2019 training in Western Australia with Olympic hopefuls Woolley and Taniah Meyers.

His father, Aaron Copeland, often travels with him to international competitions and domestic training camps.

"We don't really have a coach in skateboarding but he gives the most advice and help," Copeland said.

"Sometimes my mum or dad comes, and sometimes I go by myself. Nobody goes with me every single time. But I love it. I find it so fun, I love travelling and going to different places. Brazil is probably my favourite so far, it was very fun and cool."

2020 Tokyo Olympic Games: July 24 - August 9