Medals coming thick and fast
In 2018, she was crowned the Olympic Champion at the games in Pyeongchang: an extraordinary feat for such a young skier. She was also proclaimed Dual Moguls World Champion in both 2017 and 2019, and rose to the top of the general World Cup rankings in 2018 and 2019.
Her victory at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games was particularly significant for her, as she explains to us: “The Olympics are the Holy Grail for any athlete. It’s the competition we look forward to every four years. It was my dream to win the gold medal!” Despite her thirst for competition and her series of victories, this champion does not focus on her personal achievements: “My goal isn’t necessarily to have the best record of achievement in France. I do this for myself and to get people talking about my discipline, to raise awareness of it and to encourage people to try mogul skiing.”
Next season should be a quiet one for Perrine. The next World Championships are in two years and we have three years to wait until the Beijing Olympics.
Mogul skiing: passion and training go hand in hand
To excel in this sport, motivation is key. Perrine tells us the secret to her success: “First of all, you need to be passionate. You should ski because you love it, basically. And you have to keep that in mind at all times: even in competitions later on. You mustn’t be afraid of hard work if you want to compete at a high level, especially if you aim to be champion. You need to train and work hard.” And before every competition, the most important thing is to stay in a positive head space and concentrate on the challenge ahead: “Before each competition, I concentrate on what I need to do on the slopes and on the little things I need to improve. I just focus on that. I try to avoid negative thoughts; I want to stay in my positive bubble.”
Perrine tends to train at the gym at the Albertville National Center and on the slopes at the Glacier in Tignes in the Alps. Depending on her season objectives, she trains up to five hours per day: “At the training stage, it’ll be about three hours of skiing in the morning and two hours at the gym in the afternoon.”
Her upcoming competitions aside, her dream is to ski in the Himalayas. It’s clear that skiing occupies an important place in her life. “You have to be organized to combine all this with loved ones, with spending times with friends and family.” she says. “I try to go skiing with my friends but it’s hard sometimes, like when the season is over and I go back to university. I’m so busy but it’s important to find time to ski for pleasure and not just to compete.”
