Fanny Smith: “Managing the Olympic games pressure is the hardest part for me”

Above all, it was a family dream that led 33-year-old Fanny Smith to become a professional athlete. At just 12 years old, she began competing in ski cross, carried by a lifelong love for alpine skiing and the thrill of freestyle skiing passed on by her older brother. At 16, during a ski cross competition in German-speaking Switzerland, her father asked her a question that would change the course of her life: “Would you like to go to the Olympic Games?”

Unsurprisingly, Fanny said yes. That was the beginning of the long career we know today — marked by numerous victories (including two Olympic bronze medals in Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022), some defeats, moments of self-reflection, and relentless work. The strong-willed Vaud native has always been able to rely on the people around her to help her chase her dreams. Her upbringing and values allowed her to reach great heights while maintaining both physical and mental health — essential for sustaining a high-level athletic career. In an interview with Luxury Tribune a few days before the opening of the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics, Fanny Smith tells the story of a bold young girl who became a fulfilled woman.

You took part in your first ski cross race at age 12. What pushed you toward this discipline?

I grew up in the mountains. After school, like all the children in my region, I went to the ski club. When I did my very first ski cross course, it was like a revelation: the direct confrontation with other competitors, the variety of the tracks, the challenge — and above all, the sheer joy I felt going down.

How did your career as a professional athlete begin and take shape?

When my father suggested going to the Olympic Games when I was 16, I said yes without hesitation. Around 2008, ski cross was announced as a new Olympic discipline, and that’s when my career really started. At the time, there was no federation, so my parents had to create a private structure around me. I come from a middle-class family — a self-employed father and a mother who is a teacher — with no connection to sport, but rather to art and music. We had to work hard to find sponsors and patrons. Our first dream, which became a family goal, came true when I took part in my first Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010. Today, I still love my sport just as much, but what drives me even more is the constant pursuit of performance.

How did your family play a decisive role in shaping your career?