A lot! I spent Christmas at home, enjoyed time with my family. Then I took some time to go skiing and for some training, but without the team. But as I was in Laax and everyone is going there, I met the others anyway. I went back home for new years, then I did a short training camp in Laax, took a short break at home again and now we´ve been here in Adelboden for 2 days.
That´s tricky. I´ve been injured and didn´t have a real season preparation. I pretty much started directly with the contests this season. I´m missing the preperation, it would´ve been good to build my confidence before the contests. Training specifically fort he X-Games is tricky. But this week I tried some bigger rails, that helps a lot.
Last year before the Olympic Winter Games it was very tough for me, I wasn´t handling it very well. But it got better pretty quick and I saw that I was making progress with my physical therapy and reha. I saw that I won´t be out of it that much longer. The thing with the knee was nothing major, the only problem was, that I didn´t know how long it will take to heal. It could have been 2 weeks or 6 weeks. In the beginning it´s really hard to stay positiv, but as soon as it gets better step by step it´s easier. Staying positiv is really important.
Of course there´s the thought like „uh I´m going back to Aspen now, it happened there last time“, but this particular injurie could have happened anywhere. It was an unhappy accident. It had nothing to do with the X-Games, or the fact that I may have pushed too hard. It was a stupid mistake. I try not to think about it to much. It will get easier as soon as I feel more confident on the rails again. But I really had to push myself to do that trick again for the first time after it happened. But as soon as I realised that I did not make a major mistake in Aspen, it got easier. But in general I´m more cautious now. I weigh the risk and if a trick is really worth it, if the price may be to never be able to ski again.
The top! (laughs) That´s always the goal. We will see. In Slopestyle I can get a good grasp of my chances as soon as I check out the track for the first time. A place on the podium would be great, as I´ve always been 4th. Big Air is a whole different thing. The skill level at the moment is insane! Any contestant could win this right now.
A major one. Last year when I couldn´t go to the Olympic Winter Games, the thought that motivated me was „yeah, but you can still go to Aspen“. It´s such an amazing and really big event. And you get the chance to participate every year. Not like Olympia, which only gives you one chance in 4 years and really increases pressure on every athlete. The X-Games are such a cool event and the atmosphere is fantastic. Sometimes it doesn´t feel like a contest, but a little like training, because you can do a lot of runs and gain confidence.
I think it´s very helpful to us girls, that we ride a lot with our guys. They really push and motivate us, especially when it comes to try new, more difficult tricks. Of cours we girls also push each other – when one of us masters a new trick, the others want to follow. Of course it´s also an internal competition, but at the same time we have such a strong, beautiful friendship that we encourage each other most of all. And we all love and have fun skiing. I think that´s the key to success!
The most important thing is to stay clear from injuries. After that the X-Games and the World Championships are on top. The last World Championship was only medium good for me. I´m really looking forward to Park City, because the park is in perfect condition. Sierra Nevada was not too good to me last year. After that I´m really looking forward to Audi Nines! Regarding tricks I´m still training to get back to my old form. I got a few new things in mind. In general, I try not to think about the end of the season to much but take one step at a time.
Yeah, there won´t be to much new stuff at the moment. Maybe the Switch by 9 or 10, I never tried it on snow before. Let´s see what the training will bring.
I skied a lot and went to DEW Tour for 10 days which was really rad. Afterwards I came home, skied a little bit in Chamonix and went to Val Thorens with my family for Christmas where we rented a chalet. This is kind of becoming a little bit of a tradition. It is super good fun. My boyfriend and myself have already been there several times so we know the resort and people over there pretty good.
The preparations are looking pretty good. A lot of skiing like over here in Adelboden. I am working on my rail skills where I feel like a late starter not being 100% confident yet. In terms of jumps it is the other way around. I feel pretty good and would love to two switch dubs back to back in one run at the X-Games. This would be a big goal for me which I have never done before.
I am still super motivated. I enjoy competing and trying to jump on the podium at any kind of event. I am even more motivated right now to improve my skiing on a daily basis. Even though I have been achieving a big goal in my career with winning the Olympic Games, on a personal level I have not achieved my goals of freeskiing yet. I wanna keep developing and learn new tricks.
A lot of people are asking me how my life has changed since winning the gold medal. For sure the financial aspect changed afterwards. I was able to buy a flat in Chamonix which is really cool so I did not have to jump six times a year from one spot to the other without having a real home as I have been a low budget skier before. This is pretty cool! Besides more sponsors are getting interested working together with me so I am able to get new and more things done with my skiing. Hence this year I have got a few projects which I can hopefully make happen. My boyfriend is a filmer so we either would like to film an edit in Japan for a few weeks or go to Norway producing an edit about ski touring and a bit of park action. But all in all nothing has changed that much. I am still the same person enjoying skiing a lot and my life in Chamonix.
In Chamonix there is no park for me to train at. I tend to go skiing, ski touring, a bit of ice climbing. Most of my training is happening when I am out competing with the team or weeks like this in Adelboden. I also get a lot of time to train in summer time in Saas-Fee. This is a major time for getting better. So in between it is always super good to be in Chamonix cleaning my head and do something different like climbing for example. I think this is really important if you are a sports athlete to do bunch of other sports as well. This keeps your brain active and your other skills alive.
X-Games is the coolest event on earth. The best skiers are getting together over there competing on the most progressive and coolest course I have ever been riding. X-Games is the place to be and we will have an amazing time over there in the Aspen. For sure my goal is to jump on the podium.
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