Mélanie Meillard: 'L'obiettivo è tornare sugli sci senza sentire dolore'

Alpine SkiingFemale alpine skiing

M lanie Meillard: "The goal to get back on skis without feeling pain"

We publish the translation of a beautiful interview that the FIS has done to MÃ©lanie Meillard, the rising Swiss star of the Canton of Valais who will turn 20 on September 23rd and who deserved the Oscar for bad luck for hurting her knee immediately eve of the PyeongChang Games 2018.

Thursday 12 July 2018 10 minutes reading time

From your title of youth Olympic champion in 2016 (in Lillehammer in Giant, ed), we have included you in the list of rising stars. You almost immediately proved what you are capable of doing in the World Cup, since you got an incredible sixth place in Levi's slalom in the same year (in November, ed). You were 18, it was your fourth World Cup race. Did you expect such a good result at that moment? Not at all! My goal was to enjoy it and gain experience at the highest level. I was hoping to qualify for the second heat, but I did not expect to finish sixth! How did you feel when you crossed the finish line? I was very surprised and could not believe I had achieved such a result. When I saw the weather, I did not know how to react. It was all new to me. I was so happy. Did you realize what a huge step you had taken? Not really, not right away. But when I later looked back, it was a milestone that changed a lot the rest of my season. It also gave me a lot of self-esteem. From that moment on, things moved very fast for you. You went to the World Cup training group and became a stable World Cup skier. At the end of the season you are ranked in the first 30 of the general, in the 10th place in the slalom ranking and the 20th in the giant rank. How was the integration in this new environment? I had to learn a lot during the races, but it was very interesting and the integration into my new team was not a problem at all. Many things have happened to you in the World Cup, has it been easy to adapt to all the additional duties? I can not say it was easy, but I was very well followed, so I could adapt quickly. Of course, it is very different from the European Cup. On the World Cup tour there are the draws of the bibs, the interviews, the overseas trips, etc., but it is about being well organized to optimize every moment. What did you like most in your new life? I like traveling, discovering new places and doing what I love in different ski resorts. On New Year's Day in 2018 you have won your first podium for the World Cup at the City Event in Oslo. What crossed your mind when you were at the start of the final for third place? I tried to stay calm, not to put further pressure on my shoulders. I told myself it was already fantastic to be in the semi-finals. But I had the opportunity to win my first podium in the World Cup, so I had to push hard and give everything I needed to reach my goal. How was it to see the green light at the bottom and realize you did it? When I crossed the line and saw the green light, a dream came true. I had my first podium in my career. You had to compete against your teammate Wendy Holdener in the semifinals and against Frida Hansdotter in the final for third place. Were you more intimidated or motivated? It was a great motivation for me to know that I could keep up with them. What makes you strong in this particular discipline? Having a skier next to me on a parallel path that pushes me to reach it if I'm late or keep pushing if I know she's behind. It makes me go even faster. In this rapid rise you qualified for your first Olympic Games. But just before the opening ceremony at PyeongChang you got injured during a giant training by breaking the anterior cruciate ligament and the meniscus. A scary flight. How did it happen? It was our first day of training in Korea. In my second run, towards the middle of the track, I made a mistake and I fell spinning. Then I ended up in the nets feeling a terrible pain in the knee. How big is the disappointment and how did you deal with it? It was very difficult, a huge disappointment to hurt me just before my first Winter Olympics. I was really sad. I felt guilty and asked myself many questions. But anyway the situation was that and I could not change it, so I tried to look at the positive side of things. But it certainly was not easy. Are you okay now, and are you able to look forward yet? Yes, I'm better now. It's still too early to say when I can race again, but slowly I start to be able to look forward and see that it's possible to come back strong. What is the timing in the healing process? A few weeks after my surgery my athletic trainer, my physiotherapist, my doctor, my trainers and I organized a program for my rehabilitation. I started with a lot of physiotherapy to get the best out of the surgery. Then, after six weeks, I slowly started training again in the gym. Along the way, we adapted the rehabilitation to how my knee could do it. You are still young, we have no doubt that you will come back from this injury and you will conquer many other podiums and medals. What will you focus on when you get back on skis? The goal is to regain trust and control all my movements. I focus on the ability to train and ski without pain. Have you already set concrete goals? I would like to return to the level I had before my injury. What are your overall goals for your skier career? I dream of a medal for a great event (Winter Olympic Games or World Championships) and a crystal cup. But it is a long way and I am only at the beginning of my career. You and your brother LoÃ¯c, who is doing well in the slalom and giant slalom in the World Cup, are doing the same career. Is there a family secret that makes you so strong? There's no secret We've always been very involved in sport and when we want something we do everything to achieve our goal. What do you think were the key points of your growth that led to this success? When we were children, we were very active together with our parents. We skied a lot and also practiced many other sports. This was very useful later. Is there a healthy rivalry between you two? There is no rivalry or jealousy between us. We are always happy when the other makes a good result. Furthermore, we know that we can rely on each other if something is not right.

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