NICOLE Begg on skates is a thing of beauty. Wearing a skin-tight aerodynamic skater suit, gloves and a helmet, the platinum blonde New Zealander speeds across Petaling Jaya’s Tropicana Golf & Country Club Clubhouse carpark faster than some people can drive.

If you thought roller-skating was a thing of the past, an indulgence of big-haired and colourfully dressed people back in the 1970s, you’re a little out of date.

For years, 22-year-old Nicole has been speed-skating professionally, and says that the sport is up for a slot in the Olympics under the “trend sports” category.

The girl from Timaru in South Island thinks of speed-skating as a cross between bike-racing and running.

In-line skating is the official term for the sport called “rollerblading”, a commonly misused term due to a company called Rollerblade, which popularised the sport.

Nicole Begg, professional speed skater, was in Malaysia recently for the Asianic Inline Cup 2009 - Malaysia Leg.

As a result, this led to the generic use of the term “rollerblade” to stand for all in-line skates, even if they were made by other companies.

In-line skating is an exciting sport – skaters can glide at up to 95km an hour on skates, and there’s even a category that includes stunts.

Nicole, world champion in-line skater spends most of her days skating. Every year she spends New Zealand’s winter in sunny Europe, and when Europe gets cold, she returns to New Zealand.

“I started skating at two-and-a-half years old,” says Nicole, whose parents are also skaters. “When I was six, I started racing. It has always been in my family – my mum is a three-time world champion, my father is a coach and my brother skates too.”

She was recently in town for the Aseanic Inline Cup 2009-Malaysia leg, held in Putrajaya, where she emerged champion in the 45km race, ahead of competitors from Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, China, Europe and Malaysia.

Nicole’s aim is not just to win competitions; she intends to promote the sport as best as she can, and hopes to see it grow in Asia.

She realises that there’s a misconception about roller-skating, thanks to roller-discos. (Think Jessica Simpson’s video A Public Affair which features Jessica Simpson, Christina Applegate, Eva Longoria and Christina Milian on roller skates.) “It’s a serious sport. It requires fitness and training, just like any other sport,” says Nicole.

“However, despite the training requirements, anyone can skate. Look at me, I’m really short (165cm tall), and not muscular. Skaters are all shapes and sizes, you don’t have to be a super athlete to enjoy the sport,” says Nicole, as she put on her skates that cost US$3,000 (RM10,500).

In fact, Nicole is so serious about promoting the sport that two years ago, she actually posed nude (holding only her skates to cover certain parts of her body) for a magazine.

Hearing about it now brings a slight smile to Nicole’s face, but she clearly isn’t bothered by the subject.

“Think about it, those pictures came out two years ago, and you’re still asking me about it now, after so long,” says Nicole.

Nicole wants to change people's perception of roller skating.

“It was supposed to be a group of athletes initially, but I ended being the only person who would do it. And after the article came out, the sport really took off. People started getting curious and New Zealand got so much publicity for having a world champion featured in the magazine.”

The website that ran the pictures got so many hits that it had to be shut down. Within hours, Nicole’s name was in articles all over the world.

“I have no regrets. It’s often hard to get publicity out of New Zealand, and the pictures got the sport out there and got people interested,” says Nicole, who was always top in her class but has put her studies on hold to become a full-time athlete.

“I can’t do this when I’m 40. I can go and study any time I want, but for now, I want to do as much sports as possible,” she says.

**To read more about Nicole, visit her blog at nicolebegg-inlineplanet.blogspot.com.