Often considered the ultimate downhill race, ski cross gives Emily the biggest adrenaline rush. She was selected to ski for England at the age of 13, then swapped alpine skiing for ski cross in 2005. She hasn’t looked back since.
“I’m an ambassador for the ‘Slide to Sochi’ campaign, which includes the ‘Go Ski Go Board’ initiative. It’s important that we use these winter games to inspire a new generation of winter sports athletes. For just £5 you can visit your local dry ski or indoor snow slope in the UK, which removes the financial barriers of learning to ski or snowboard.
I’ve been on the world cup circuit since 2006 and I’ve seen some amazing places and met some incredible people. I’m based in Meribel during the European winters, and although I do consider my skiing career to be my ‘job’, I’m very lucky to have the mountains as my office.
Ski cross is a really popular spectator sport as it’s really easy to understand. Basically, four skiers line up, then race each other over a course that includes jumps, banked turns, rollers… anything can happen and more often than not, there’ll be thrills and spills all the way to the finish line.
My preparations for Sochi have gone really well, getting back on snow after loads of gym training felt really good. I’ve never felt so strong and my focus is to stay this way to advance in the world rankings. My aim is to be in the top 16 when we reach Sochi, then it’s anyone’s game.”
Follow Emily’s progress on Twitter @EmSkiCross
