Fanny Smith has been a professional skier for 15 years, and the 24H newspaper has devoted an article and interview to her.

Here is the 24 heures article. Enjoy your reading...

The 32-year-old from Vaud is about to embark on another World Cup season, with the World Cup in Switzerland as her season-ending treat.

It's quite a feat when you've spent your professional life on two spatulas: the 32-year-old from Villard has only “done” a ligament once. And that was in the early 2010s. A rarity in her chosen field. But while the two-time Olympic bronze medallist's knees are in good condition, she's still had a few trips to the infirmary. A quick look in the archives reveals a bit of everything when you enter “Fanny Smith” and “injured”.

It begins in March 2012 with “Fanny Smith learns the art of patience”, continues with a broken collarbone in 2015 and ends in February 2024 with “Fanny Smith has had surgery”... With, inevitably, a few little torments in between. Twenty, a hundred times over, put your handiwork back on. A sportsman's career is made up
of eternal restarts. And when your job is to try and overtake other people on skis, between bends and moguls, there's bound to be a little breakage from time to time. The Vaudoise suffered a broken thumb at the end of last season, and was able to return in extremis for the end of the financial year, in order to have the opportunity to carry out the ski tests necessary for the following season. And then a real vacation!” she smiles. Finally, I had a real training block straight after the season, and that's important. As I was injured, I still lost quite a bit and you can feel the difference straight away.” For the general public, a skier's season lasts four or five
or five months. For an athlete, it's more like a year's work, of which the final stage is only the culmination.

Professional at 16

“My preparation is indeed much longer than the season itself,” laughs the Vaudoise. I often talk about it with other athletes. We train more than we compete! The problem with our discipline is that it's harder to find a playing field all year round. In skating, for example, you can always find ice somewhere, even in summer. In athletics, you can run indoors if you need to. For us, that's not possible. And skiing is so physically demanding on the body, you have to practice and prepare all the time.” So at the end of August, the Villard native spent twenty-four hours on the move, heading for Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia, Argentina.

La Vaudoise joined the professional ranks sixteen years ago. She has therefore spent half her life on the circuit. She therefore knows what she needs to get off to a flying start. For the next one, the appointment is already made for Val Thorens, on December 12 and 13. Then it's on to Arosa at night on the 17th and two races in a row three and four days later in Italy. The season then stretches on to the traditional finals in Idre Fjäll, Sweden. But a week before that, the big event of the winter takes place: the freesyle World Championships “at home”, in Saint-Moritz (GR).

Not a trace of weariness “I turned pro quite young and, at the time, I signed a contract with myself. The fact that my parents let me do what I love and practice a sport that was completely new - everyone called me crazy at the time! - made me very quickly aware of the professionalism I needed to achieve my goals. Since then, the training and intensity have remained pretty much the same. I've just changed my infrastructure along the way, but that's about it. It's just moving from one fitness trainer to another, because I needed renewal and new motivation.”

Half a lifetime of ski-cross, then, but not the shadow of weariness. I'm still really into it,” she confirms. But above all, I still enjoy it just as much. I like to challenge myself, and as long as I have that little flame and that burning desire to progress, I'll always be looking for ways to improve. The only thing that's changed over time is that now I almost have to warm up before I warm up!” She does concede one downside: the evolution of her sport. “On the races, I'm clearly having less fun, because the courses have become much easier, less challenging.”

The International Ski Federation requires more stages to be completed in a short space of time. But this also means that you have to go on slopes that aren't necessarily ideal for a skicross course. And that levels the playing field,” complains Fanny Smith. As a result, skiers who aren't quite ready for this sport at the highest level can dare to do things that they wouldn't be able to do on a really good course, because they'd be putting themselves straight on the card! It's a bit dangerous because of the direction skicross is taking. Before, you had to be careful and tactical. It was cool!”

“I'm still really into it. But above all, I still enjoy it so much. I like to challenge myself and as long as I have that little flame and burning desire to progress, I'll always be looking for ways to improve.”
Fanny Smith

Article from Journal 24 heures (11.09.2024)

Text: Robin Carrel

Photo credit: Keystone

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