Winter Olympics: Ruby Star Andrews beats the clock to make Olympic debut after hip dislocation

Ruby Star Andrews earned her first FIS World Cup podium in 2023. Photo / AFP

Lying in a hospital bed in Austria in November, Ruby Star Andrews prepared for the worst.

After a strong season at home in New Zealand, the 21-year-old skier had ventured to Europe for a pre-season training block in Stubai.

Everything seemed to be coming together nicely in preparation for a big season ahead, but it all unravelled very quickly.

After she “got the speed wrong” during a run, Andrews dislocated her hip and had to be airlifted off the snow in intense pain.

“I was in hospital for a night and then those few days in Austria just sitting at home at the Airbnb, I was like contemplating my whole life,” Andrews told the Herald.

“It was the worst timing for an injury and I just kind of had lost hope a little bit that I was even going to make it to the Games.”

With the incident happening on November 11, she had less than three months before her first assignment of the Winter Games, with slopestyle qualification on February 7.

She returned to New Zealand with little hope of making it to the starting line of her first Olympics, but after seeing a medical team, Andrews was told she could be back on the snow in eight weeks.

“I was in the doctor’s office and they said that and I, like, didn’t listen to anything else that they said because I was just like, eight weeks, I couldn’t believe it,” Andrews said.

“My Dad was there and he was just jaw on the floor, like it was crazy. I just worked really, really hard over the last two months in the gym and strengthening up again; just worked really hard to get back to where I am.”

Andrews was able to get back on her skis three weeks ago for a limited preparation for the Games; not much time, but maybe just enough.

But the injury was a cruel way to end what had been a strong year that included a spot on the slopestyle podium at the FIS World Cup event in Tignes, France. That result came between a fifth and a seventh place, with the Kiwi consistently hovering in the top 10.

However, having only been back on the snow for a few weeks, her outlook heading into the Games in Italy has been somewhat adjusted from where it might have been with a full preparation.

“I have to respect what’s happened and not try and bite off more than I can chew,” Andrews said.

“I’m pretty hungry, but I do need to just respect what’s happened and I am really proud of myself for coming back. It is really hard on the mental side of things just with, like, doing that trick again is pretty scary. But yeah, I am really proud of myself for making it back in time.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.