Two Trips To Australia Pushed Skateboarder Tate Carew To The Brink Of An Olympic Berth
by Steve Drumwright
Two trips to Australia over the last nine months unlocked something in Tate Carew that helped him rocket to the top of the skateboarding world. Now, if he can stay there for a bit longer, the men’s park star could ride all the way to an Olympic medal this summer at the Olympic Games Paris 2024
The 19-year-old Carew, coming off a bronze medal at the 2023 world championships, boarded the first flight to Australia last fall at the behest of the sport’s most iconic rider, Tony Hawk. The second trip was more about training with good friend and reigning Olympic gold medalist Keegan Palmer.
With the 2024 Olympic season coming on fast, Carew needed to get in the right headspace to make a strong showing at the Olympic Qualifier Series, a two-stop competition that determines Olympic berths in a handful of urban sports.
Hanging out with two of the best ever to ride worked wonders.
In May, Carew broke out for a win at the first Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai, a result that vaulted him from No. 4 to No. 1 in the world rankings. Now he’s aiming to secure his spot on Team USA with another strong performance at the OQS second leg, set for June 20-23 in Budapest, Hungary.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Carew said of his new No. 1 ranking, “and I’m not sure if it’s even quite settled in yet.”
The dual trips Down Under proved key.
Carew grew up in San Diego, considered the spiritual home of skateboarding thanks in large part to Hawk. Though the two had known each other prior to the trip, getting to spend time with the 10-time X Games champion proved an eye-opening experience for Carew, then 18. Before flights and in other downtime, the pair talked about tricks, and Hawk gave the teen advice on how to overcome mental blocks.
“So he definitely gave me a lot of great information,” Carew said.
One of the biggest takeaways Carew had in his many chats with Hawk had to do with falling. A few months earlier, Carew had broken a collarbone. Even after regaining full health and resuming training, he felt something was holding him back.
“I felt like I wasn’t skating as best as I could just because I was a little bit in my head,” Carew said. “He kind of made me realize that that’s all part of it.”
Carew’s second trip to Australia was more low-key but still skateboard-focused with the Olympic Qualifying Series rapidly approaching. One of his best friends, Palmer, who was also born in San Diego but moved with his family to Australia as a 1-year-old, asked Carew to come and hang out before a spring and summer stacked with competitions started in full force.
Palmer, who is now 21, was going through some “mental stuff” and was hoping a visit from Carew would help clear his mind. It turned out to be a good trip for both.
“He and I just have a great dynamic,” Carew said. “We both push each other, and I think skating with him super-beneficial. We kind of just both said that when we go to Shanghai, we’ll try not to think different, just pretend it’s like a regular session.”
That change in mentality, being more relaxed, resulted in Carew winning the Shanghai OQS event with a score of 93.33 and Palmer taking second at 92.30. The result not only solidified Carew’s standing in the chase for Olympic spots; it also showed he could be a true medal contender in Paris.
Carew grew up skating around his Point Loma neighborhood, and his competitive nature soon had him climbing up podiums and rankings. Long a popular but niche sport, skateboarding took a major leap when it debuted at the pandemic-delayed Olympics in 2021 in Tokyo. In the three years since, Carew said the intensity has risen enormously on the pro circuit.
“I think everyone has realized that this is becoming a bigger part of skating, not just filming and all that, the kind of cool side of skating,” Carew said. “It’s becoming a way to make a living, and I think people are definitely taking that to heart. But in terms of skating, from the last time around in the Olympics, skating in general has kind of made a push to the next level.”
Carew embraces that ramp-up. A lot of that comes from other sports he played as a kid, including baseball and basketball. But skateboarding was the one he excelled at.
“I grew up being very competitive,” Carew said. “I always played sports at school and stuff. But in skating, I think I’ve always had the same mentality going into contests, and that’s just to have fun and, for whatever reason, that’s the most natural thing for me. So I think I’m going to just continue having fun, just like in a normal session.”
When he isn’t on the board, Carew can be found playing chess, the guitar, tennis or golf as he works hard on his mental health and creating a good balance for himself. He hopes that overall effort on the mental and physical sides of skateboarding make for a good result in Paris.
“I think the biggest thing that I’m looking forward to is just the experience,” Carew said. “I’ve spoken to a few friends that went last time and they just said, there’s no contest like it. Once everyone makes it to the Games, all the hard work has paid off and you just let your muscle memory take over and you let your skating do the talking for you.”