Sitting just a couple of days before the Olympic Games were due to begin in the Brazilian city, the IOC general session unanimously approved that skateboarding would be one of five sports to be added to the program four years later in Tokyo.

“I was so excited,” Grace Cochrane recalled.

“There was a lot of controversy about it at the time because it’s not very mainstream but I think people are more accepting of it now.

“It’s good for the sport and will take skating to a whole new level.”

In 15 months’ time skateboarding will join karate, sports climbing and surfing to debut on the Olympic program with softball and baseball returning for the first time since 2008.

Cochrane can hardly wait. The 16-year-old has been skating for four years, competing for two and is ranked in Australia’s top five in the park discipline in which up to three skaters could earn selection.

“It would be an amazing experience and is definitely one of my goals, whether it’s this Olympics or the next. It would be such an honour to represent Australia in what I love, but for now I’ll just keep having fun and see what happens.”

Sydney-born Cochrane moved to Tasmania when she was five and attended Lansdowne Crescent Primary and Taroona High schools.

“I heard about an all-girls skate group called She Shreds, I went along and loved it,” she said.

“I like how it is so creative and challenging. It’s totally up to you what you get out of it. It’s not a team sport but you can still make a lot of new friends through it. I’ve always been very competitive and I love the atmosphere at comps. It’s real fun.”

The sport is split between park and street disciplines for men and women.

“Each skater has three or four runs and the aim is to get as many tricks in as possible, go fast and stay on the board because as soon as you fall off your run is over.

“I think that’s good because it gives everyone the chance to show what skills they’ve got and a high-pressure situation brings out the best in people’s ability.

“There are a whole range of different comps, local, national and international, and I travel around the country a fair bit. Melbourne and Sydney are where most skating is but I went to China for the world champs. That was my first international competition and a great experience.”

With several national bodies running competitions, skaters must accrue as many points as possible in the qualifying period before the top three Australians will be selected provided they are in the world top 20.

Following victory in the open women’s division at the King of Concrete event and second place at the Australian Skating Federation national championships, Cochrane will take part in this weekend's VPS Oceania Continental Championships but thoughts of Tokyo’s Aomi Urban Sports Venue remain on the backburner at Hobart’s popular skate park in Murray Street.

“I just skate every day and work on stuff with my coach who gives me ideas to try and learn new skills and keep pushing myself.”