The Olympic Games see athletes at the height of their career and the peak of their game. And remarkably, for these young female competitors, it didn’t take long to get there.
At only 14 and 15 years old, respectively, Aussies Arisa Trew and Ruby Trew rewrote history in Paris, competing for the gold in skateboarding.
And interestingly, the girls share no relation despite their identical last names. However, they are good friends and have a bit of fun about the coincidence.
“We just tell people we’re cousins, even though we’re not,” Arisa said.
Skateboarding has only been featured in the Olympics since 2020 (delayed to 2021 thanks to the pandemic). But it has long seen men and boys rule the ramps and dominate the half-pipes.
Now thanks to the grit and determination of these fearless young ladies, the tides are turning. And the global stage has witnessed just how amazing they are.
Meet Arisa and Ruby below:
ARISA TREW
Arisa is from the Gold Coast and was just 14 years 86 days when she competed in Paris. This makes her the seventh youngest Australian Olympian ever.
And what is it a young Olympian gold medallist would want as her prize? Besides the medal, of course. Definitely not a proposal, which has been a romantic trend in Paris 2024.
All she wants is a duck. Naturally. “My parents promised if I won the gold medal I would get a pet duck,” Arisa told Nine’s Eddie McGuire on the desk in Paris.
“Because they are really cute, then I can take it on walks and take it to the skate park.
“My parents definitely wouldn’t let me get a dog or a cat because we are travelling so much right now.
“But I feel like a duck might be a little bit easier, and… I don’t know, I just want a duck. It will just be in my yard. And I’ll get a little pool thing for it.”
The young champion first turned heads at the Vert Alert ramp competition in Salt Lake City this past June. There, she became the first female in history to land the 720 – a move involving two full 360 rotations in the air.
Not only did she ace the trick, Arisa managed to do it in front of the guy who pioneered it nearly 40 years ago – skateboarding royalty Tony Hawk.
Since, it seems Tony has been keeping his eyes on her. Arisa absolutely nailed a 900-degree spin in a half-pipe, another female-first, and Tony took to his 8.8-million strong Instagram account to tell the tale.
He heaped praise, posting the video and captioning it: “Arisa Trew just became the first female to land a 900.
“Glass ceilings are so 2023. Congrats.”
Arisa commented on his post: “Thank you so much Tony! Your (sic) an inspiration”.
RUBY TREW
Sydney’s own Ruby Trew, 15, got her ticket to the Olympics after winning silver in the park division at the World Skateboarding Olympic qualifier in Argentina in May.
Just out of kindy, Ruby was only six when she competed in her first international competition. Then at 10, she beat out adult women to world championship silver.
Born to be an Olympian, Ruby set her sights on competing at the Tokyo Games when she was 12. But, that plan got pushed because of COVID-related incidents, she says.
“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.”
Of competing in the Olympics, Ruby says, “I’m thrilled to be representing my country in Paris. It’s an amazing achievement for myself, family and supporters.
“This has been a great journey not just for me but for all my teammates. We’ve worked so hard to get to this moment so we all really want to enjoy it and support each other, it’ll be amazing in Paris.”
Heartbreakingly, Ruby fell short of a place in the women’s park final, with a crash on her final trick of the heats. But she still made Australia proud with her fantastic effort.
THE OLYMPICS SKATEBOARDING COMPETITION
The Olympics Skateboarding competition will be held from Saturday 27 July to Sunday 28 July for Street, and from 6 August to 7 August 2024 for Park at the La Concorde venue in Paris.
In the heart of Paris, the La Concorde venue, along with the Grand Palais, the Eiffel Tower Stadium and Champ-de-Mars Arena, will temporarily be transformed into an urban park.
