“Sometimes it is small changes that help us, and it does not take long to be on the right path again. Our team and I went back to basics, and things turned around for me in just one camp.” — Mina Fürst Holtmann
When everything was trending wrong, she fought back the right way.
In the final stretch before the Olympic Games, Mina Holtmann’s season was clearly going in the wrong direction.
Results were slipping. Performances were dipping. The spiral was visible from the outside, and it felt even heavier from the inside.
Then, on the biggest stage of all, she delivered by far the most powerful performance of her season and impressed the world watching her carve controlled, effortless turns down the Olympic slopes of the Tofane in Cortina d'Ampezzo, finishing just 0.12 seconds from a medal.
Not cautious. Not surviving. Powerful and effortless.
When everything had been trending downward, she did not collapse. She fought back.
The turnaround did not come from forcing more. It came from stopping, thinking, and having the courage to reset. That reset revealed something essential about her identity as an athlete: her ability to fight, especially when things are not working.
Stopping the Spiral and Going Back to Basics
What changed in me after a difficult stretch of races that made me deliver on the biggest stage is that I had to stop and look inwards. I had ended up in a ditch that I didn’t know how to get out of. I was spiraling a lot around skiing, in addition to some personal issues I had to resolve. All of that had been weighing down on me for a long time, so in order to be able to ski the Olympics and not just be there and finish, I had to change something.
We went home after the race weekend in Spindleruv Mlyn, had a break, then went to the pre camp for the Olympics where we got calm, proper training. My coaches and I sat down and simplified everything. We went back to basics, focused on one task and one task only. That made things turn around for me. I know from experience that if I try too hard to ski fast, I only ski slow. I think many athletes recognize themselves in that it is hard to trust that normal is enough. Me included.
So that was what I brought with me to the Olympics. Normal is enough. And trust in that one task.
The fight was not about aggression. It was about discipline and confidence in what she already had.
Responding With Control Under Olympic Pressure
I think a lot of athletes react in powerful and controlled ways to difficulties and bumps in the road. Every one of us has to confront ourselves to evolve, move forward, and perform better. It is something natural in us athletes to learn from our mistakes because we want to, and the alternative is worse.
A Reminder of Who She Already Is
This performance was perhaps more of a reminder than a teacher. It reminded me that I am a great skier and can be involved in the top.
Being an underdog allowed her to be free. Free to focus. Free to simplify. Free to trust herself again.
The fight was not about doing more. It was about doing it right.
Sometimes the strongest fight is the one that looks calm from the outside.
Thank you for inspiring us, Mina.
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