Kirsty Muir's Extreme Breath-Hold Training Fuels Olympic Ski Success
Britain's newest ski sensation, Kirsty Muir, has soared to new heights on the frozen slopes of the Italian Alps in her quest for Olympic glory. However, the 21-year-old from Aberdeen attributes her standout performances to the profound depths she explored during an unconventional training regimen.
Qualifying Triumph and Unusual Preparation
Muir's aerial prowess secured her a third-place qualification for Monday's women's ski slopestyle final at Livigno Snow Park. This achievement followed a nerve-testing training session at Delphy Pool near Bodmin in Cornwall last year, where she dove to a depth of 56 feet and held her breath until her lips turned blue in the freezing darkness.
'It was to put ourselves in a high-pressure situation and see how we reacted, how we managed ourselves and told our minds to chill out in this high-stress situation,' Muir revealed a few weeks before the Olympics began.
The Gruelling Breath-Hold Process
Muir detailed the progressive nature of her training: 'We started off just breathing on the ground, then we moved into a static tub and that's where I held my breath for three minutes in the end,' she explained. 'Then we moved into a quarry, went down a rope and ended up 17 metres down. It's pitch black, you can't see anything, and you start overthinking - that's when you've really got to centre yourself and calm down.'
She emphasised the direct impact on her skiing: 'It's helped a lot with my skiing because I realise now that I perform a lot better when I am calmer.'
Performance Under Pressure
On Saturday, Muir consistently placed in the top three during her qualifying runs, advancing to the final behind Switzerland's defending champion Mathilde Gremaud and Chinese superstar Eileen Gu. Reflecting on the qualifiers, Muir noted: 'I feel like my heart was maybe racing just a little bit more than usual. After I put my first run down, I felt a bit of a relief and felt like I could just be a bit smoother in myself.'
She highlighted the mental resilience gained: 'Just knowing I can do it when I'm feeling a little bit nervous, when I'm feeling a little bit of pressure, knowing that I can trust myself and put it down.'
Personal Life and Future Hopes
Competing in her second Olympics, Muir hopes to celebrate after the final with her boyfriend, Matt Harris, a 26-year-old BMX rider from Cambridgeshire who gained fame in the first series of The Traitors. This personal support adds another layer to her journey as she aims for Olympic success.
Muir's story underscores how extreme mental and physical preparation can translate into peak performance on the world stage, blending innovation with traditional athletic discipline.
