Traveling the world as a Youth Olympian

Ruby Fullerton doesn't spend much time at home anymore.

The 17-year-old ski racer has gone straight from the Youth Olympic Games in South Korea back to Italy, spending six months in Europe a year to continue her training through the New Zealand summer.

When she is in the country, she only spends about three months a year at home, with the rest of her time spent down south skiing.

While she was happy with her results from the Youth Olympics, Ruby says sickness on the day of her best discipline, the Giant Slalom, meant she wasn't at her best.

"I still managed to put some good skiing down and placed 23rd, which met my expectations.

"I always dreamed of going to the Olympics, but there was still a part of me that didn't think it was possible.

"It feels kinda like a dream to have actually gone."

In an interview with the Nelson Weekly in 2019, Ruby said her ultimate goal was being an Olympic athlete.

"I think younger Ruby would be super excited to hear that she would go to the Olympics one day, even if it's the Youth Olympics," she says of the experience.

"It was unlike anything I have experienced. I came into it thinking that it would be cool but nothing crazy. It was crazy.

"I was mainly just excited because I just went into it with the mindset of enjoying the experience. I wasn't putting too much pressure on myself, which helped my performance."

Ruby says while the whole event was filled with highlights, like her skiing and results from her favourite event, the Giant Slalom, but her main highlight wasn't what you expect.

"(It) might sound a bit silly but it was trading pins with all the other athletes. I ended up with 34 pins from different countries."

In an interesting quirk, the level of competition at the Youth Olympics was actually lower than where she traditionally competes, with her overseas races being against anyone from her age to 30-year-olds.

She says the experience has fueled the inspiration to continue chasing qualification for the full-scale Olympic Games, but it's not an easy road to walk.

"Unfortunately, it is extremely hard to qualify to represent New Zealand at the actual winter Olympics.

"You need to get two top 16 finishes in a world cup, which is difficult when alpine skiing is a Northern Hemisphere-dominated sport."

But Ruby's already proven that someone who got their start on a little old ski field at the top of the South Island can take on the world's best.