Olympian Valentino Guseli visits St Bernard's, captivates students with snowboard, trophies

The 18-year-old from Dalmeny, who recently scored three Snow Australia Awards and managed a world-first World Cup hat trick, spoke to Year 6 students about his triumphant career on Wednesday, June 7.

St Bernard's teacher Elizabeth Coggan, who is a family friend of the Guselis', organised the memorable talk while Valentino was on his way to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

Ms Coggan said her students were fans of Guseli, having seen his practice jump on Valentino's grandfather's property.

"Many of the students are surfers, snowboarders or skaters, so they knew all about him," she said.

She said the students were "super excited" after they watched clips of his record-breaking 7.3-metre halfpipe jump and footage of his runs at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

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Guseli's snowboard made eyes light up around the classroom.

"They handed it around and were all quite reverent!"

Ms Coggan said Guseli recalled his beginnings as a keen skater.

"When he was three, he started doing tricks on a skateboard and his parents took him to the snow.

"He was hooked on the first go and started competing when he was seven."

She said the students were captivated by his personality and his presentation.

"The kids said overwhelmingly, they were struck by how humble, positive and calm he was."

Ms Coggan said her students were eager to get his autograph, so Guseli agreed to sign a photo for every one of the students, so they can all remember his story and success.