Written by Skylar Rispens
With the conclusion of the 2014 Olympic Winter games the world learned about many talented athletes from every event, and of every nationality. However, one individual was a particular standout. She’s the youngest winter Olympian since 1972. She’s from Whitefish, Montana: she’s Maggie Voisin. The Nugget recently conducted an interview with the world-class athlete.
Skiing became Maggie’s passion at a young age. She began skiing at three years old at Whitefish Mountain Resort and at the age of nine, Voisin was faced with a decision to choose between ski racing and slopestyle skiing. Her twin brother, Tucker, and his friend convinced her to join the freeskiing (slopestyle) team. Looking back, Voisin is glad that they convinced her to go with slopestyle skiing as it has opened many doors for her. “Skiing has taken me all over the world,” explains Voisin. She has traveled throughout the US and visited countries such as Russia, New Zealand, and Canada – all for skiing. As she puts it best, “I get to travel the world skiing with my friends doing what I love.”
At 15 years old, she had accomplished more than any other teenager could have dreamt of achieving. In her 2012-2013 slopestyle season, she emerged as a star. During that season she ended up on a podium (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place) in nearly all of her competitions. That season paved the way for her success in her 2013-2014 season. Voisin competed in the Dew Tour 2013 competition and ended up placing 3rd for women’s slopestyle on her 15th birthday. Later she competed in the Grand Prix (Olympic Qualifiers for Slopestyle skiing), and she also was invited to compete in the 2014 X-Games. Voisin took 2nd at the X-Games and had an incredible performance that included a switch 1080 – a trick which requires a skier to ski into the jump backwards and spin 1080 degrees in the air. She is one of two women skiers who have performed this trick. To wrap up her successful season, Voisin was chosen as a coach’s discretion pick for the first ever slopestyle skiing Olympic team.
Maggie Voisin trains during Ski Slopestyle practice at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images (via www.huffingtonpost.com)
One of Maggie’s largest career accomplishments has been being a part of the 2014 United States Olympic team for Sochi, Russia. Voisin says that it was an honor to be one of the few Americans representing the United States, as well as being a part of the first ever slopestyle skiing team “to this day it’s still a dream and I can’t believe that I was in Russia.”
During her Olympic journey in Sochi, she was left unable to compete in the qualifying event because she suffered from a broken fibula above her ankle while practicing for her event. This has been Voisin’s first major injury and it has put her out of skiing for a while. “Injuries are part of the sport and it’s something that I have to get used to, but it also goes to show how much I love skiing. These injuries make me want to work harder and come back stronger than ever!” said Voisin.
After getting injured in Sochi, Voisin seemed extremely positive – but it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. “I found no point in being sad and ruining the rest of my Olympic experience,” said Voisin. Every day she reminded herself of how far she came that season to stay positive. Despite not being able to compete at the Olympics, Voisin still cheered for her teammates and friends.
Photo from from www.snews.net
Maggie’s 2014 – 2015 season started with a new sponsor in K2, but ended abruptly after an ACL tear took her out of the Dew Tour competition in December. As Voisin plans for her future in slopestyle skiing, she tries not to put any expectations on herself. Her main goal is to keep on loving what she is doing and continue to have fun. She is excited to see where skiing takes her in the future. Along with her demanding schedule with skiing, she still does school work. During the winter Voisin lives in Park City, Utah with a host family so she can train at Park City Mountain Resort and attend online schooling through the U.S. Ski Team’s “Team Academy.”
Maggie Voisin is living her dream. Through her hard work and her willingness to become a better athlete she has accomplished everything that she had hoped for. This is only the beginning of her successful career.