lilou ruel

Lilou Ruel, born on May 9, 2003, in Mont-Saint-Aignan, Normandy, France, developed an early interest in sports, initially engaging in speed skating and tennis. At the age of nine, she discovered parkour and began training, quickly developing a passion for the discipline. Her talent became evident as one of her parkour videos went viral when she was 11. She continued to hone her skills, even installing a scaffolding structure in her family’s garden in Plaisance-du-Touch, a suburb of Toulouse, where her family settled after living in Turkey for two years. Ruel started competing at 14, securing third place at the 2017 Air Wipp competition in Sweden, marking the beginning of her professional career. She completed her Baccalaureate in Economics and Social studies at Lycée de Tournefeuille in 2021 and later pursued studies to become a stuntwoman at Campus Univers Cascade in Northern France after a gap year.

Ruel’s career accelerated with significant achievements and milestones. In 2019, she competed in her first Red Bull Art of Motion at the age of 16. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she continued training and began to consider parkour as a full-time career. This led to a silver medal in the parkour freestyle event at the virtual E-FISE competition in September 2020. The year 2021 was pivotal, as she won the Red Bull Al-Andalus women’s event and secured a gold medal in women’s freestyle and a silver medal in women’s speed at the Freerunning and Parkour World Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria. Her dedication and psychological preparation, including working with mental coach Alexandre Lacaze, culminated in May 2022 when she became the first woman to complete the 4.5m gap/15m tall ‘Manpower’ jump in Évry, France, a legendary parkour feat. This accomplishment solidified her position as a trailblazer in the sport and opened doors for other female athletes. That same year, she earned bronze medals at the Parkour World Championships (women’s category) and the Parkour World Cup (women’s speed and freestyle).

Beyond competitive parkour, Ruel has transitioned into the entertainment industry, using her physical abilities for stunt work. She has become a sought-after body double, appearing in various film projects and music videos, notably for Charli xcx’s 2024 ‘Von Dutch’ and other collaborations with brands such as Roland Garros and Meliá Hotels. Her involvement in motion capture for video games further highlights the diverse application of her skills. In July 2024, Ruel participated in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, portraying a masked torchbearer, a role she reprised for the Olympic Champions Parade in September 2024. Currently, she aims to combine her athletic prowess with acting, with aspirations to become an actress who performs her own stunts, having already secured a small role in ‘Cat’s Eyes’, a French live-action show.