Maïa Schwinghammer and Julien Viel | For the love of skiing

Without freestyle skiing, Julien Viel and Maïa Schwinghammer would be nothing. Literally. Their story is a story of love, family and success.

Schwinghammer’s parents met at the Freestyle Skiing World Cup in Mont-Tremblant, “too many years ago for[elle s’]remember precisely,” she says. His father, who came from Saskatchewan for the occasion, and his mother, originally from the Laurentian region, met at the foot of the mountain when the two were working on the organization of the competition.

For his part, Viel is a “third generation skier”. Thanks to his father and his grandfather, he has been immersed in the world of freestyle skiing since birth. “In my family, people talk about mogul skiing at dinner, at parties, at Christmas, it’s really cool! His mother, also a skier, knew his father through skiing at provincial competitions.

For almost two years, the 21-year-old skiers have been a couple. Without even knowing it, it would have been easy to deduce it from the complicit and admiring glances cast towards each other during the interview. Zoom of their hotel room in Italy organized by The Press.

“We really are a great freestyle skiing family and we try to continue the line,” says Viel.

More importantly, they are living their dream together. For them, it’s the beginning of all possibilities.

A smashing season

The two protagonists recognize it, their start to the season has not lived up to their expectations. During the holiday break, they were able to recharge and reflect. They had however experienced a long training camp, in Whistler and Chile, during the off-season. Enough, precisely, to raise their standards in terms of results.

The trigger was made when he returned from the long leave, at the Val Saint-Côme World Cup.

“I’ve been skiing well since the start of the season and I knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time. It was really in Val Saint-Côme that it unlocked,” explains Schwinghammer, who understands French perfectly, even though she grew up in Western Canada.

Stunning on the Lanaudière track, she obtained her best career result with a fifth place.

The following week, at the mythical lighted mountain of Deer Valley, she finished at the foot of the podium. “I’ve been telling her for a long time that she’s one of the best skiers on the circuit. I’m really proud, ”said his companion.

She even thinks she can bite into a medal before long. “I really feel like I can do this. In my two super finals in Val Saint-Côme and Deer Valley, I made mistakes. So finish 4^e and 5^e knowing that I have things to improve, it gives me confidence that I will be able to break through the top 3. »

A feat achieved by Viel, during the last World Cup, in Italy. He finished third in the dual moguls event. Prior to this race, his career-best finish was a ninth-place finish at Utah the previous week.

“It happened a bit by surprise, but the same morning, I had a little feeling when I got up that it was going to be a good day”, recalls the main interested party.

Schwinghammer confirms: “That morning he said to me: ‘Look at me today, I’m going to have my first podium,’ she recalls laughing. It was obviously very special to see him go. It’s inspiring for the rest of the team to believe that we can be on the podium too. »

As the World Championships approach, they have only one wish: to have fun, “because it’s when you’re having fun that you ski best,” says Viel.

Double tap

“I wouldn’t say it’s always easy,” Schwinghammer says, brushing her hair back, of their unique relationship situation. After all, rare are the athletes who have the privilege of rubbing shoulders with their better half on a daily basis. In their case, it is necessary.

Despite everything, they would not want to change anything, she continues.

Indeed, the duo manages well to manage their emotions, believes Viel. Especially since in the context, the pressure and the stress are doubled. Both want the best for each other. The mental load and the concern to have good performances are amplified with each competition.

“I don’t often see Maïa going down during the day, because it makes me nervous and I don’t want it to affect my competition. But I watch her runs after the day and I’m still super proud of her. It makes me happy. »

If some fear a stir after the possible departure of Mikaël Kingsbury, the national freestyle ski team is in good hands if it is held at arm’s length by Schwinghammer and Viel. Their hearts are conditioned to beat with the rhythm of the bumps and they are ready to carry the torch high, for the love of skiing.