27 January; Matt Roseby
Student-athlete Sophie Ash will make her Olympic debut after being selected in the Australian Winter Olympic Team this week. Her selection was off the back of a strong performance at the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup at Deer Valley, USA, earlier this month.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation) in 2020, Ash dedicated much of 2021 to her athletic training to follow through on a decade-long pursuit to represent Australia at the Winter Olympics.
Just days after making the team and still imbued with emotions, the mogul skier shared what the culmination of years of dedication meant to her.
“I had no idea if it was going to go ahead because of Covid, so our whole team has been on edge the past two years”, Sophie shared after reflecting on her journey to selection; “I’ve been training and competing for 11 years and a lot of sacrifices have been made, so I’m glad the hard work has paid off”.
Working as a freelance animator and artist during her studies and training, Sophie remarked on how balancing an academic and athletic focus has helped her excel in both.
“Thinking about ideas for animation or other creative projects can be refreshing for me when I’m in a sporting environment. And it goes the other way too, when I’m working like crazy to get a creative work or film done, training is a great outlet”.
A member of the University’s Elite Athlete Program (EAP), Sophie discussed how advantageous the support and training provided through the program was during her Fine Arts degree. Reflecting on the training provided by the program’s strength and conditioning coach Tony Sephton, Sophie commented on his ability to help her “see sport in a different light” and challenge her “perceptions of training and what it means to be an athlete”.
Sophie also praised Elite Athlete Coordinator Brendan Parnell for his consistent help balancing her commitments on and off the slope. However, perhaps one of the greatest benefits of the EAP is the community it creates; “I’ve made so many good friends in the EAP who have helped and supported me through some tough times”.
Looking forward, Sophie plans to become more involved in university sport. She will begin a Master of Teaching at the University in February, and hopes to compete at Uni Nationals Snow at Mount Buller, the place where Sophie first learned to ski at just two years old.
Sophie is joined on the Australian Olympic team by Bachelor of Environments alum Brodie Summers, who was selected for his third Winter Olympics.
The Winter Olympics commence on 4 February in Beijing, although qualifiers for women’s mogul kick off a day earlier, with the women’s finals taking place from 6 February.
