WHILE Olympic athletes are chasing glory in Rio this week, Pottsville surfer Brittani Nicholl will be chasing gold for Australia at the ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica.

Representing Australia is a dream come true for Nicholl, who had the surfing world at her feet before the chronic bowel condition, Crohn's disease, cut her down.

Nicholl, who became a national ambassador for Crohn's and Colitis Australia in 2011, re-entered the water in February after a 10 month lay-off, competing in qalifying series competitions the Telstra Pro in Cabarita and the Taggart Pro in Newcastle.

Nicholl now finds herself fit and firing, ready to tackle the surfing world once again.

"It's taken me quite a while to get to where I am now, with not only my health, but also mentally and physically,” Nicholl said.

"I wasn't able to gain forward momentum until after my last major surgery in October where they removed the problem area of my small intestine and before that, it'd been a constant uphill battle.

"Now that my body is in a better state, I'm back in the gym, which has also been good for my mental health and I'm really enjoying being back in the water and back in a contest jersey.”

The ISA Australian team, also including Kingscliff's Codie Klein, will tackle teams from all over the world in Olympic style competition, with individual and team medals on offer.

While Australia last medalled at the event was in 2013, when Sunshine Coast surfer Dimity Stoyle claimed the Open Women's Gold, the moment isn't lost on Nicholl, who's confident of the team's chances.

"Being selected to represent Australia has always been a goal of mine, not only am I excited to represent myself and others with Crohn's and colitis, but to represent my country is a dream come true,” Nicholl said.

"To win gold would be amazing. We have a solid team and we'll be aiming high, hoping to bring gold home for Australia.”

Surfing is being considered for entry into the Olympics, from Tokyo 2020, and while Nicholl would love to compete for Australia on the Olympic stage, it's one achievement at a time.

"After Costa Rica I'll be looking at finishing the year with the remaining QS6000 events on the World Qualifying Series,” Nicholl said.

"I would love to qualify for the Women's World Tour, but at this stage I'm just really enjoying being back in the water and will continue taking it one step at a time.”

The ISA games run from August 6-14.