14-year-old Ruby Trew talks balancing life and her Olympics dream

After Covid-19 crushed her Tokyo Olympics dream, 14-year-old Northern Beaches skater Ruby Trew is more determined than ever to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Ruby Trew spends close to 40 hours a week training, is the fourth best women’s skater in the world and just claimed silver in the first leg of the World Skate Tour.

She has two things on her mind – the Paris Olympics and finishing her homework.

The 14-year-old Northern Beaches skater has come close to her ultimate goal before – only to have it snatched away in cruel circumstances completely out of her control.

Ruby was part of the Australian skateboarding team competing in the USA in 2021, fighting for the final points she needed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic team.

“I got to the semi-finals and then the coach got Covid-19 and a few other people got Covid before him and they had to disqualify us from the comp,” Ruby said.

“If I would have gotten to the finals I would have gone to Tokyo but that is just the way it is.

“It was very disappointing, I had a lot to bring and I was super excited but no one could do anything about it, it wasn’t their fault they got Covid, it just happened.

“I was pretty bummed for a few weeks but then I decided to get over it and keep skating and moving on.”

Trew heartbreakingly missed her chance in Tokyo. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

And move on she has.

Ruby is the fourth best women’s park skateboarder in the world and the highest ranked Australian.

At the 2022 Park Skateboarding World Championships Ruby finished 10th, narrowly missing out on a chance to progress to the final.

Just last week in San Juan, Argentina, Ruby finished second in the World Skateboarding Pro Tour, with a score of 88.16. The event featured 179 skateboarders all trying to claim ranking points towards qualifying for the Paris 2024 Games.

Ruby left her best until last, scoring an impressive 86.16 on her final run, bumping her into second place, behind Tokyo bronze medallist Sky Brown.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting second but I put down my best run and was super happy,” Ruby said.

Trew is the fourth-ranked skater in the world. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Trew finished 10th at the 2022 World Championships. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Less than 10 points separated all eight skaters in the women’s final with fellow Aussie Arisa Trew (no relation to Ruby) placing seventh.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Champion Keegan Palmer topped the men’s quarterfinal and was seeded second following the semi-final in Argentina. Palmer, sporting an injury, could only complete one of his runs in the final – but still managed to secure bronze.

While determined to represent Australia and compete against the world’s best Ruby is trying not to get too far ahead of herself.

Instead she is concentrating on her training – which she splits between skating, her second sport surfing, and her school work.

Ruby said she spends close to 40 hours a week either surfing, skating or at the gym – with her weekends consisting of a two hour morning surf session, three hour skate, gym session and another two hours of surfing or skating in the afternoon.

Trew is also a highly regarded surfer. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

On weekdays she juggles her training in between her time at Narrabeen Sports High School.

“On Tuesday and Thursday mornings there is a program called the Academy and you can do your sport there whether it is basketball, netball, surfing or all the different sports. They have coaches too, it’s pretty good,” Ruby said.

To qualify for Paris Ruby has to be one of the top three ranked Australian skaters. The silver performance in Argentina means her ride to the Olympics should be a lot smoother than in 2021.

A strong performance at the next World Skate Tour event in Rome in October would all but lock in her spot.

Originally published as 14-year-old Ruby Trew talks balancing life and her Olympics dream