Categories: Sports

How freediving fuelled skier Muir’s Olympic medal ambitions

Scottish freestyle skier Kirsty Muir says taking the plunge in a Cornwall quarry has helped in her bid for Winter Olympic success.

The 21-year-old will be among Team GB’s medal hopes at February’s Games in Italy.

And, if she can fulfil her Olympic podium potential at the Livigno Snow Park, an underwater challenge on England’s south coast last year will have played its part.

“My coach Joe [Tyler] worked to create a couple of freediving days,” Muir told BBC Scotland.

“We started off in a room on the floor doing breathing exercises, then we moved on to a static tub using a snorkel, then we had to take the snorkel out and just be face down in this tub for a few minutes holding your breath and just trying to relax.

“In the end, I held my breath for three minutes in the tub. By the time I got up, my coach did say, ‘your lips are going blue’.

“It was weird because time passes really quickly actually. They said, ‘try and think of a happy place’, but I didn’t need to think about anything else. I was just relaxed and full in it and that was really interesting to me.”

Such is the nature of freestyle skiing, being brave is a quality you need. Muir has it in abundance, which is just as well as she tackled the final part of her freediving test.

“We finished in the quarry going down a line – I think it got to about 15-17m down it,” she explained.

“It is such an interesting experience. You have these little thoughts and fears, but you have to relax in your body. You don’t have to go back to the surface, you can reset yourself and then keep going.”

The three-time World Cup gold medallist believes lessons learned from the unorthodox outing have been invaluable.

“It was really interesting to see that I perform better when I am more relaxed, so we have very much taken that into skiing and I think that has helped,” she said.

“It 100% is just mind over matter and I think now I make sure I prepare myself properly before my competition runs because before I would get quite amped up.

“Nowadays, I really try and do some deep breaths, really centre myself, visualise my run, make sure I am calm and then go.

“It has definitely been helping and I think I can focus more on what I need to do when I am relaxed.”

‘I’ve definitely grown up since 2022 Games’

At 17, Aberdonian Muir was the youngest member of Team GB at the last Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. A lot has happened since then.

She was sidelined for almost a year with a knee injury, a spell out during which she also had shoulder surgery.

However, Muir has not looked back since she got back on her skis, producing a number of fine results that have cemented her status as one to watch.

“During a rehab, you have those nasty thoughts, those doubts of ‘will I come back? Will I come back strong? Will I be able to get back to where I am?’,” she said.

“But I am really stoked with how it worked out and we actually came back a lot stronger and that was my goal through it.”

While coming back stronger was the target, Muir has been surprised by just how well she has done since returning from injury, particularly as she broke a thumb in December.

She took gold at the Big Air World Cup at the Secret Garden in Zhangjiakou, China, in November, then claimed the third World Cup victory of her career by winning the freeski slopestyle event at the US Grand Prix in Aspen in January.

The Scot made the finals in the women’s slopestyle (eighth) and big air (fifth) in Beijing four years ago and a place on the podium this time is not out of the question.

“Absolutely, you have those thoughts,” she said. “I think it would be amazing, but I try not to dwell on it because, again, that is when I start overthinking things.

“I have to put that all to the side and really just focus in on my skiing.”

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