Aberdeen freestyle skier Kirsty Muir believes that a hard-earned lesson in patience could be the key to unlocking golden performances at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina. The 21-year-old talent, who has already secured World Cup gold medals in both slopestyle and Big Air disciplines this season, is positioning herself as one of Great Britain's strongest medal prospects for the 2026 event.
From Injury Setback to World Cup Dominance
Muir's current form represents a remarkable comeback story following a devastating injury that sidelined her for the entire 2024 season. After rupturing her ACL during a World Cup race at Copper Mountain, the young athlete faced an extended period of rehabilitation that forced her to miss competitive action. Rather than viewing this as purely negative, Muir now credits this unscheduled break with providing crucial perspective and development opportunities.
"I very much appreciated the time at home with friends and family because it's rare that I get to spend any time at home," Muir told the Press Association. "I learned a lot about patience. The schedule is non-stop, so although taking a break was really difficult, I feel like I really learned a lot about myself, and when I need to rest."
Olympic Experience and Renewed Focus
Having made her Olympic debut as a 17-year-old during the Covid-affected Beijing Games, Muir gained valuable experience that she believes will serve her well in Italy. In Beijing, she achieved a respectable fifth-place finish in the Big Air final after holding third position at the halfway stage, along with an eighth-place result in slopestyle.
The enforced break following her ACL injury allowed Muir to approach her Olympic preparations with renewed focus. "The Olympics was always still a target for me, but at the same time it took away some of the pressure to get results to qualify, because I was just very focused on taking each step as it came," she explained.
Building on British Skiing Legacy
Muir now stands on the brink of making British skiing history. With her recent success at the prestigious X Games in Aspen, Colorado, where she claimed the slopestyle title, she has demonstrated world-class form that could see her become only the second British medallist on skis. Izzy Atkin currently holds that distinction, having won historic ski slopestyle bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
The Aberdeen athlete acknowledges the inspirational role played by previous British winter sports stars in shaping her career trajectory. "I remember Billy's moment from the 2018 Games," recalled Muir, referring to snowboarder Billy Morgan's bronze medal in the inaugural Big Air event. "It happened overnight because of the time difference so my mum recorded it and I watched it with my sister in the back of the car on the way to skiing ourselves."
Muir added: "It was one of those really special moments, along with Izzy's bronze medal, that made you realise what it was possible to achieve in the sport, and I owe a lot to those people who helped make the team what it is today."
Current Form and Future Prospects
As the 2026 Winter Olympics approach, Muir finds herself in an enviable position within a thriving British freestyle and snowboard programme. Her dual World Cup gold medals this season, combined with her X Games triumph, have established her as a genuine contender across multiple disciplines.
The lessons learned during her injury recovery period appear to have created a more resilient and strategically aware athlete. Muir's emphasis on patience, rest, and incremental progress suggests a mature approach that could prove decisive when competing on the world's biggest winter sports stage in Milan and Cortina.
With her combination of youth, experience, and current form, Kirsty Muir represents not just a medal hope for Team GB, but potentially a transformative figure who could elevate British skiing to unprecedented heights at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
