From Aberdeen, to the Winter Olympics, to being described as the future of British skiing – it has been quite the year for Kirsty Muir.
It has been exactly 12 months since a then-17-year-old Muir captured the nation’s attention when making her Winter Olympics debut in Beijing in freestyle skiing’s big air and slopestyle disciplines.
She may not have medalled, finishing 5th in the big air and eighth in the slopestyle, but her displays on the slopes were more than enough to show Muir had a bright future ahead of her.
And since making her Olympic bow, Muir, who grew up training on the dry slopes at Garthdee, has continued to impress at prestigious winter sports events, including The Nines and the X Games.
The 18-year-old also marked a personal milestone, as she finished her studies at Bucksburn Academy, becoming a full-time athlete for the first time.
“It’s been a really good year for me,” Muir said. “I’ve had a lot of fun and a lot has happened – I’ve finished school so now I’m skiing full-time, and it’s great to have those opportunities.
“I’m just really enjoying it. It’s good to have more free-time and, not having to be busy all the time, I feel like I can relax a bit when I’m not on the hill – that’s helped with my training.
“I think just having the time to calm down and reflect before going back on the hill.
“Maybe I’ll go back to studying in the future, but just now I’m enjoying my skiing.”
Competitive atmosphere inspires Muir to land huge 1620 at X Games
Muir is now part of global drinks brand Red Bull’s stable of athletes and added to her growing list of achievements in January when she won her first ever X Games medals, picking up bronze in both the big air and slopestyle events.
The atmosphere in Aspen, Colorado, Muir reckons, is what helped her finish on the podium – inspiring her to do a trick she had barely even tried before, let alone landed.
“I was so happy,” Muir said. “I went into it the big air with the idea of the tricks I wanted to do, but I wasn’t so sure.
“In the competition, I landed my first-ever 1620 which I had never tried on snow or really airbag at all before – it was just the competition atmosphere that made me go for it.
Kirsty Muir 🇬🇧 wins bronze in Women’s Ski Big Air at #XGames Aspen 2023! pic.twitter.com/vK0DQCmPuz
— X Games (@XGames) January 28, 2023
“It was an amazing atmosphere with all the girls because they all did some amazing tricks. That atmosphere just made it – it made you want to go for your best tricks.
“When you’re at the top of the hill waiting for your run, you block everything out, but then you just try and thrive off the energy and everything around you. It’s a different level.
“No matter what, even if the conditions are bad, you still want to really go for it.”
World Champs next for Muir
Following her bronze medal success in Colorado, Muir will be back on the American slopes next week – but this time in Georgia for the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships.
“The World Championships is a big one,” Muir said. “I don’t think you go to any competition not hoping to be on the podium, that’s just sport.
“But I do just really want to go there and enjoy it. I want to put the best run down that I can, like I always do.
“I’ve just learnt a new right-side double, so I’d love to put that in my slopestyle run.”
Muir’s surprisingly chilled hobby away from high-octane sport
How does Muir wind down from an adrenaline filled day of extreme sports?
Well, before heading off to the Winter Olympics last year, Muir spoke about how she enjoyed reading in her downtime, especially fantasy author Sarah J Maas, but she’s recently turned her hand to something else.
“I still love Sarah J Maas, but I’m not actually reading anything at the moment,” Muir said. “I’ve been crocheting in my spare time.
“I started in August and I’m just really enjoying it. I’ve been making a lot of beanies – so most of the people on my team have one of them now.
“It’s relaxing and I like it because I watch films or listen to music while I do it.
“I like having the reward of having something to show for it afterwards – and it’s nice to give them to people and see their reaction.”
Putting next Winter Olympics to the back of her mind
It might be three years away, but after bursting onto the scene in Beijing, Muir has been pipped to make history and bring home a haul of medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
But, for Muir, that’s not something she is thinking too much about right now.
“I think it can be motivation, but, at the same time, it’s so far in the future,” Muir said. “I don’t want to think about it because I’ll take every day and competition as it comes.
“I just want to enjoy what I do because that’s the main thing – I’m having so much fun at the moment and I want to continue with doing the same.”
Kirsty Muir is a British freeskier and athlete for skiwear brand Planks.
Firmly rooted in Manchester and Val d’Isére, Planks is a community of obsessive riders, roamers and revellers providing top ski gear with a dose of streetwear style.
Kirsty’s top Planks picks are available to purchase from www.planksclothing.com
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