Winter Olympics 2026: How do extreme skiers overcome the fear of serious injury?

Zoe’s sister, Izzy, won a bronze medal in downhill in Pyeongchang in 2018.

It gave Britain its first Winter Olympics skiing medal – 16 years after Alan Baxter lost a slalom bronze when he failed a drug test after using an over-the-counter nasal decongestant which he thought was permissible.

Watching from the stands eight years ago in South Korea with her parents, Zoe was inspired by her sister’s achievements to pursue her professional skating career.

“Working with a sports psychologist was important – when I was younger, I had more fear, which was a barrier to performance,” says Atkin.

“I’m still very young, but there were a lot of expectations internally, and things I wanted to achieve.”

She heads into the Games as a world champion, and has finished this season on the podium at every World Cup tournament, including a win at Copper Mountain and a gold medal at the X Games.

“Now I’ve won things, surely I shouldn’t feel afraid and I should feel confident?” She says.

“But no matter how established you are, there’s always a comfort zone you need to push to make progress. It’s always constant progress, and it’s a journey I’ve now fully embraced.”

Atkin was fortunate to avoid serious injuries, unlike her sister, who broke her pelvis just before the 2022 Winter Olympics and has since retired from competitive skating.

Her GB teammate Kirsty Muir has also had her fair share of injuries.

The 21-year-old competes in downhill and big air skiing. She rides rails and performs big ramp tricks.

She knows all too well the horrors of serious injury in the line of duty.

In December 2023, a scan revealed that repeated blows to her knee had led to a cruciate ligament tear, ruling her out for a year.

“Having not skated for a long time in my life,” Muir says she is fit and preparing for Milan-Cortina – but admits the road back has been tough.

“The sport is constantly progressing, so getting a lot of rest has been difficult,” Muir told BBC Sport.

Muir has won World Cup events in downhill and big air skiing this season and has also won the X Games but is no stranger to the occasional landing.

The key to overcoming this fear, she says, is to accept that it happens.

“The injury was not the scariest for me, because it did not happen at a specific moment,” she says. “It gets worse when things outside of your control go wrong.

“I’ve had my skis fall off my feet or my goggles fall over my eyes when I’m about to jump, and I’m flying through the air without my skis on my feet. It’s a weird feeling.

“We’re good at adapting to situations, and we don’t think about it until it happens. Don’t worry – be prepared, then adapt.”