One of France’s hopes for Olympic gold in Beijing, Tess Ledeux, said she was physically and mentally ready for her first participation in the Big Air freestyle ski discipline. Just weeks after impressing fans and experts at the X Games 2022, where Tess Ledeux became the first woman in this ski discipline to do a double cork 1620 (scrolling and landing with her back to the downhill direction and a second face-down to the final), she is ready to fight for the gold medal at the Beijing 2022 Olympics. But the 20-year-old athlete is adamant that she will not allow the tension to weigh on her.
“I’m trying to tell myself that the Olympics are a new competition for our sport. And anything can happen. We have a white page and I want to write it. But it applies to everyone”, said Tess Ledeux. “The important task, apart from the results, of course, is to keep my smile and enjoy the moment. In fact, I can confirm to you that I am full of positivism”, added she.
However, to win the first Olympic gold medal in the Big Air discipline, Tess Ledeux is hampered by local favorite Eileen Gu, who beat her last year at the World Cup.
Tess Ledeux added that her training at the new stadium for Big Air in Shandon – the world’s first permanent track for this discipline – is going well. They are currently preparing for the qualifiers, which start on Monday.
“My performance at the competitions in Switzerland gave me confidence, so I think I’m in good form. But as in any competition, anything can happen”, said Tess Ledeux.
For her, this is the second Winter Olympics after PyeongChang 2018, where she competed in slopestyle but was eliminated in the second round.
Tess Ledeux is a French freestyle skier who competes internationally. She competed for France at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2017 in Sierra Nevada, Spain, where she won a gold medal in Slopestyle