#skicross #worldchampion
Needless to say, she’s just gorgeous and great fun to hang out with, so check out the video to get an idea about Fanny Smith’s day job…and don’t forget to take your chin off the floor afterwards. We met the Skicross World Champion in Villars-sur-Ollon, in the Swiss mountains high above Lausanne and Vevey, when she had just come back from competing on Germany’s Feldberg in the Blackforest. She is an incredible athlete, with her eyes on the big prize at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022, but first has to prove her staying power on the slopes in order to maintain the crown of World Champion this coming season 2019/20.
Being an athlete
Fierce. Fearless. Fabulous. That’s just three 3 words to describe the Swiss Athlete Fanny Smith. Talking to her though, you realise she’s charming, funny, down-to-Earth and just a normal young woman. Throw in the word DRIVEN, and then you a get a better picture of the transformation from the person in front of you to the person on the slope, competing in World Cups! The winter sport she just excels in year on year is SkiCross, and so one wonders what she wants to prove or why she’s racing downhill at break-neck speed!
Fact is, she has a real talent for what is required to be the best in the world in this skiing discipline: she’s committed, she takes her training super seriously and she’s competitive as hell. Learning the odd thing or two about skiing downhill from a very early age helps, of course, and that’s where Dad came in, skiing teacher and paragliding pilot Christophe Smith. Growing up and still based in beautiful Villars-sur-Ollon in Switzerland, she will even be welcoming the Youth Olympic Games YOG in Lausanne in 2020 as a YOG Ambassador, which is a huge deal and a massive recognition of her achievements.
Mental determination
However, one gets the feeling that whatever Fanny does, she wants to do on her own terms, which is fair enough. So, where does the drive come from then? Well, Fanny is the first person to tell you herself that school wasn’t a great environment for her, as she is dyslexic. She got bullied for it, which isn’t nice, and unfortunately many kids experience this when growing up in an environment that’s not necessarily geared to children with certain requirements. However, the seriously impressive thing is, how she channelled these experiences and emotions into deciding that she wants to become the best there is in the world in at least something.
And bang: give her the right environment and she is a force to be reckoned with. She is indeed fearless, and has incredible style on the slopes. She flies down the hill and seems not the slightest bit intimidated by her competitors. She’s clear about what she wants to achieve and will do anything to get her there. Today, she is the ski cross world No.1, and for that we salute her.
Competition calendar 2019/20
So, where will this the season 2019/20 competitions and championships take her? Well, getting involved with the YOG 2020 is going to be a big deal, but until first there’s dozens of races to get out the way, which are part of the World Cup, the European Cup, as well as local races in Pitztal, Montafon and Aros, to name just a few. In the last Winter Olympics she won Bronze in Skicross, and we somehow get the feeling that unless it’s proper Gold, it’ll never be enough for her. So, she’s got her eyes firmly on Beijing 2022, but until then, she’s got her work cut out to keep the crown of world champion. She is a realist and she knows this. So, good luck for the coming season, Fanny, and we already look forward to seeing you compete next time. (fanny-smith.com)
