Ambitious Hana skates into the record books

Hana Bath says determination is her secret weapon in her quest to skate for Australia at the 2030 French Alps Winter Olympics.

And that dream appears closer to becoming a reality following her silver medal win at the 2026 ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships, held earlier this month in Estonia.

Hana’s win is Australian’s first individual medal at the Junior World Championships. She is also the first ever woman representing Australia to win a medal at any ISU Championship event, both junior and senior.

Hana’s score of 205.39 was just 3.52 points behind gold medallist Mao Shimada and 8.22 ahead of the bronze medallist Mayuko Oka, both of Japan.

Hana said she wanted to show what we could do.

“I am really just happy that I could skate my best today I wanted to enjoy this Junior World Championship and I was able to do that this year as well,” she said.

“So, this year I wanted to perform for the crowd and show everything that I can do and I am very happy with what I could do today.”

A two-time Australian Champion, at senior and junior level, Hana began her ice-skating journey while a student at Oberthur Primary School in Bull Creek, quickly standing out for her work ethic and competitive drive.

To pursue elite training opportunities, Hana now skates and studies in Osaka, Japan, balancing a demanding international training schedule with her schooling.

As a Year 11 student at the School of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE), she is completing her studies around 7,700 kilometres from her Perth classroom.

She still calls Perth home and misses the beaches, her friends and father and brother, who remain in WA.

“Studying at SIDE helps keep a connection to Australia,” she said.

“My SIDE coordinator, Carmel Rankin, has been really supportive and helps me balance my ice skating with school commitments.”

Ms Rankin said Hana has managed to find the right balance.

“Hana started at SIDE in 2025 as a Year 10 student based between Perth and Japan,” she said.

“She’s successfully balanced schooling whilst also competing internationally and placing in top 10 in the World Championships in 2025.

“Hana is the first Australian woman to land a number of extremely difficult jumps/combination moves, all while keeping up to date with her full program at SIDE, including studying Japanese.”

Being able to speak Japanese has helped with Hana’s transition. And while missing Australia, she said that Osaka does have its positives, with local sushi being a favourite. Plus, she has great support of a team of skaters for training and competition development.

Hana is doing amazing things for the sport in Australia.

She became the first Australian female skater to land not just two triple axels in a free skate, but also a triple axel/triple toe loop combination.

She is only the second junior skater to land a triple axel in competition. Her trademark determination saw her commit months to stabilising the tricky manoeuvre in training.

It featured in a program she performed at an ice-skating Grand Prix event in the UAE in October 2025 and was key her to being awarded a silver medal in the open international competition.

And might feature one day in the Olympics.

“My dream is to be a member of the Australian ice-skating team in the French Alps 2030 Winter Olympics,” she said.

And her teacher Kate Thomas believes if anyone can, Hana can.

"Hana demonstrates outstanding reliability and independence in her learning,” she said.

“She keeps her studies up to date, meets assessment deadlines and proactively communicates with teachers to ensure she can achieve her personal best alongside her elite skating commitments.

“As she enters Year 11, Hana is ambitiously taking on the challenge of ATAR subjects, demonstrating the same determination she brings to her skating."