Three years ago, you were in a hospital bed being told you might never walk again. Today, you are an Olympian. If you could go back to that person in the hospital, what would you say to her?

I keep getting asked that question and it’s not an easy answer. Coming back from that crash hasn’t been easy. I missed a full year of training for the Olympics, and for a long time I felt like I was playing catch up, not just with my peers, but with myself. It’s only human to wonder how much further along I’d be if it hadn’t happened. I’ve definitely felt bitter about it.

In the first year after the injury, I was surprisingly accepting. I felt like I was learning so much about myself in my 9 month rehab. I had this powerful drive to grow and rebuild. I wanted my life back more than anything.

But when I finally got back on snow, that’s when the real work began. I was suddenly face to face with fear I didn’t know I had. Snowboarding wasn’t effortless anymore. My brain was trying to protect my body at all costs. I cried a lot that year.

It’s been painful. But it’s also made me more self aware, more resilient, and more intentional about how I ride. I’m not the same snowboarder I was before the crash, and I guess that’s ok. I would love to meet the version of myself who never had that crash and see how different we are to each other. I hope that I am the better version, but I guess I’ll never know. I’ve just gotta keep proving to myself that I am.

So to answer your question, I’d probably just tell her to buckle up cos it’s about to get real hard but you’re gonna be so brave and do it all anyway because you will never stop believing in yourself.

You have been incredibly open about the mental toll of your recovery, including working with a sports psychologist and dealing with the fear of returning to the snow. How did you push past that mental block, and how much did your tactic of smiling at the top of the slope help you find your rhythm again?

I’m still working through it. And I’ve realised there’s no shortcut. You can’t trick your brain into thinking that jumping backwards off a 28 metre jump is safe. The only way through it is to take it head on with preparation, with trust in your training, and with respect for the fear instead of pretending it’s not there. But having fun is the ultimate way to make your snowboarding look good. So learning to let go is really important, even though I’m struggling with it still. I found that if I’m not smiling, then I’m probably gonna ride bad, and if I don’t want to smile I might as well just unstrap my board.

You mentioned that the Olympic Solidarity programme and the early grant from the Ellie Soutter Foundation were life-changing for your career. Aside from that vital funding, who are the people, coaches, or fellow athletes you want to give a massive shout-out to for pulling you through the darkest days of your rehabilitation?

Well of course I have to thank the staff who brought me to Chur Hospital in Switzerland and the doctors and surgeons who worked on me. If they hadn’t have worked so quickly I would have bled out internally. Next, I have to thank my coach for holding my hand for hours after the operation while I slept. Every time I would stir and open my eyes he was just there letting me know that everything is ok and that was so nice. In the days that followed I spent a lot of time alone, confused, and in pain but when my mum finally walked through the door of my hospital room I knew everything was going to be ok. I had lived with my dad in France since they got divorced when I was 10, so i was never really close with her, but when the British Olympic Association offered to pay for my rehab in England, I went to live with her and we are so much closer now so I am really grateful for that. I’d like to also thank Adam my physio who I saw every week for 9 months, who helped me recover so quickly (and let me cry a lot too).

How would you describe your personal riding style when you are dialling in a slopestyle course compared to when you are just riding fresh powder down Arare in Avoriaz?

I’d say my riding style is pretty loose but when I crash I think I do that differently to most people, bit more savage lol. I don’t have time to ride powder cos I’m usually trying to recover for the next sunny day so I can train in the snow park. But hopefully now I have more time to chill instead of train for the Olympics so I can ride some more powder.

You grew up in Cheltenham but moved to Morzine at age 10, completely changing your environment. We know you have ridden alongside incredibly talented snowboarders, but who are the athletes that have most heavily influenced your style and progression?

I like to think if Rene Rinnekangas and Anna Gasser had a baby it would be me. I didn’t get to a World Cup level in snowboarding until I was about 21 (which is super late nowadays). I had looked up to them my whole life and now I can call them my friends which I think is absolutely bonkers.

Snowboarding is your career and your passion, but what other sports do you enjoy when you are away from the snow? Do you use any other activities for cross-training, or just as a way to switch off and relax?

Since my injury I had to get into weight lifting so I’m still really enjoying that, I find it’s actually great for recovery when I have a week off from snowboarding. I love cliff jumping in the summer, skateboarding with friends, rock climbing and I’ve recently bought a padel racket so I guess I’m into that now too. My boyfriend and I are yet to lose a match so hit me up if you’re keen for a challenge haha.

Riding and music go hand-in-hand for many freestyle snowboarders. What music are you listening to when you need to hype yourself up for a massive Big Air jump, and are there any specific artists that inspire you off the slopes?

8/10 times I don’t listen to music when I ride but when I do, I listen to Enya or pretty hard core techno. I’m not proud of this. I know how weird that sounds because of how different they are to each other. To be honest, maybe because I’m such a sensitive person, I really like powerful music no matter what genre. Think like, end of movie type of music. I’ve found myself listening to My Heart Will Go On by Céline Dion while dropping into a big air before.

For the vast majority of us, competing at the Olympics is something we will only ever experience through a television screen. Can you describe what it actually felt like to stand at the top of the Livigno Snow Park course at Milano Cortina? What was the atmosphere really like, and how did you process the overwhelming reality of suddenly being an Olympian surrounded by the world's best?

Being at the top is no different to any other World Cup to be honest. I’d love to tell you how it’s some crazy overwhelming feeling, but I do World Cups with the same exact people all the time and everyone is super chill, so that’s actually really nice. I absolutely love it up there though. I dunno maybe it hasn’t sunk in yet that I’m an Olympian but I don’t feel like it’s such a big deal. I think I’ll probably think differently when I’m 50 haha.

You admitted that the nerves got the better of you a bit during the Big Air qualifiers, but you bounced back to land a clean run in Slopestyle. How difficult is it to block out the noise of the Games and just focus on landing your tricks?

I guess I was struggling with sleep at the games. So when we started with big air, we had like 4 days of training, and they were all super late nights. I was getting in to my room at midnight still buzzing with adrenaline, then my roommate who was a different sport to me, was having to get up at 7am for her training and would wake me up unintentionally and then I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep because I would start stressing too much about my snowboarding. So I think was getting nervous because of the lack of sleep, being too tired to control my emotions because I don’t usually get nervous before a comp. So that’s definitely a contributing factor to why I didn’t perform at my best during big air. It was just really overwhelming being at the games in the beginning, after big air I decided to loosen up a bit and just have fun in slope. I definitely didn’t perform to my best in slope either but I made it out alive and had fun so stoked on that haha.

What’s the single biggest lesson you have taken away from your journey from a hospital bed to the Olympic village?

The only thing between you right now and you realising your dreams is you. Just keep pushing and never stop believing in yourself. There are going to be people who don’t believe in you but if you feel it in your heart then go with it, you can do it :)