Alpine skiing is not a pursuit many Queenslanders choose.

And a pole vaulter may seem an unlikely mentor for a snow sports athlete.

But Jackson Harvey is used to taking the road less travelled.

A moguls skier born in the US to an American father and Australian mother who both worked in the ski industry, Harvey grew up in Colorado but relocated in 2022 with the strong belief the Australian program was the best is the world.

The 20-year-old is one of six athletes awarded a tier 1 scholarship by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF) within its 2024 scholarship and mentoring program.

Four Olympic champions, a surfing superstar and one of Australia’s most decorated Australian rules footballers – all current members of SAHOF, having been inducted for success in and contribution to their sport — are set to mentor the next generation of sports stars, including Harvey.

Harvey, who is now based in Queensland training at the Olympic winter training centre at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre — where a purpose-built ramp allows athletes to simulate aerial ski disciplines while landing safely in water — said working with a mentor was “a massive and exciting development in my career”.

While he has not been based in Australia for long, Harvey jumped at the chance to work with Hooker after the Olympic and world champion was a keynote speaker at the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia’s H3 Summit (Health, Happiness and High Performance).

“I am incredibly excited to develop a relationship with Steve Hooker, whose success in

sport and business I greatly admire,” Harvey said.

“I can’t wait to begin learning from his experience and then applying this insight to my own pursuits.

“I am humbled by my selection and am eager to interact with the SAHOF family in the future.”

Hooker said he was thrilled to have the chance to be part of Harvey’s journey.

“It gives me so much enjoyment to go back in time and see how lessons that I have learned both in sport and in life after sport can be helpful in solving a problem for someone who is aspiring to be great,” Hooker said.

“Also, I’m looking for this to be a two-way mentor/mentee relationship as I just took

up skiing this year, so I’m sure there will be plenty that Jackson can pass on to me.”

In other mentor/mentee arrangements, rising track sprinter Torrie Lewis will work with three-time Olympic champion Dawn Fraser; Hockeyroo Amy Lawton will link with seven-time world surfing champ Layne Beachley and AFL legend Chris Judd will mentor rising swim star William Petric.

Australian rower Jacqueline Swick will link with former Australian hockey captain and Olympic gold medallist Rechelle Hawkes, while kayaker Mark Crosbee will work with a mentor familiar with handling water craft at the elite level as former Oarsome Foursome member and Olympic champ Drew Ginn guides his journey over the next year.

The three-tiered scholarship program, which is backed by the Australian Sports Commission incorporating the Australian Institute of Sport, supports young elite athletes on their journey to excellence and success on the world stage, awarding $150,000 in funding to 32 athletes each year.

The athletes selected in Tier 1 of the program will receive a $10,000 sporting grant to go towards their training and competition, as well as one-on-one mentoring from these Australian sporting greats to help them reach the highest level in their chosen sport.

Originally published as Sport Australia Hall of Fame reveal scholarship winners