Changing things up after a very successful quad. Why I decided to go to the University of Utah
Holy moly, does the ski community like to gossip! The news that I had chosen to attend the University of Utah as a student-athlete next year spread like wildfire at World Cup Finals this year in Lake Placid. Everyone seemed to already know the news before I had the chance to tell my coaches and support team!
The trajectory of my ski career over the past four years has been incredible. In 2022, I was 16 years old and ski racing in Canada had just resumed following the COVID-19 pandemic. I had just attended my first Nationals Championships and couldn’t have been more thrilled about qualifying for the National Development Team. Little did I know what the next four years would have in store for me.
Now, I am 20 years old, and I have two World Cup race seasons under my belt. I’ve competed for Canada at World Junior and U23 Ski Championships four times, and have won 1 gold and 2 bronze medals from those championships. Racing at the 2025 World Ski Championships and the 2026 Olympic Games, and winning the 2025-2026 Overall U23 World Cup are experiences that 16-year-old me couldn’t have imagined to be possible. The influx of new opportunities that cross-country skiing has given me has been steep, fast, and rewarding, but overwhelming at times too. From the outside, my results may look like everything has just fallen into place for me, but truth be told, thousands of quiet training hours, goal setting, and perseverance have gone into my success as an athlete.
I’ve found myself wondering “what’s next?” a lot recently. Achieving success so quickly is really exciting, but I’ve also found the desire and pressure to keep performing to be overwhelming. Right now, I don’t have a lot of outlets in my life to lean back on if I experience any setbacks within my ski career.
I also feel that the trajectory of my career has put me at a higher risk for burnout. As rewarding as the past few years have been, the pace of my development has made me realize that I need to prioritize long-term growth and sustainability because I want to have years and years left competing at the highest level of cross-country skiing. Concluding the race season feeling like I’m running on fumes after racing on the road for several months is not sustainable for me in the long term. But don’t worry, you’ll still see plenty of me on the World Cup circuit, at U23 World Champs, and at World Championships over the next few years, just not for four months at a time.
So, how do I keep my ski career sustainable? To find purpose in and put my energy towards several different parts of my life, and to change up my environment. Attending the University of Utah feels to me like an investment in my future, both as an athlete and as the person I want to become outside of sport. I am excited to dive into school full-time and in-person, broaden my identity, and build my framework for a career after sport.
My decision to move wasn’t an easy one, because the community that I have around me in Canmore is so strong, but choosing the University of Utah as the next stepping stone in my career was the easy part. Their highly respected science programs, research opportunities, and collaborative and dominant ski team will be a great environment to support and balance the demands of elite athletics and post-secondary education. It’ll be a big change, but I am ready for a new challenge. While entering new environments can be scary at first, it also leads to new opportunities and growth. I am looking forward to learning and growing as a person and as an athlete from new systems and teammates, while chasing results and my goals on the World Cup, at World Championships, and U23s too!
My move is not a goodbye, not even a “see you later” to Canadian cross-country skiing and the support system around me in Canmore. Through collaboration with all of my coaches and integrated support teams, I’m building my career on my own terms, in a way that I believe will give me the best opportunity to have a long, healthy, successful cross-country ski career, and a strong future after sport. Success truly takes a village, and I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has helped me get to where I am. I’m excited for what will come next!
See you on the trails! :)