Hanna Faulhaber is off to Battle! We sat down and asked her some questions about the opportunity and all the details going into it.
MA: So let’s start with how it feels? You are officially going to the Olympics.
HF: To be honest I can’t believe that I am going to the olympics. It’s crazy to think that my dream ever since I was a little kid is coming true. It still hasn’t hit me that I am going and probably won’t until I’m actually on the plane going to China.
MA: Can you tell us about when exactly you found out? that feeling, that moment?
HF: I had a feeling that I was going after my Dew Tour podium along with both of my Calgary Podiums however I didn’t actually hear that I was going until the team talked to me about the naming event that happened Saturday night. This was a few days before. When I heard this it still didn’t really process until I was up on stage with a few of the others that will be going with me to Beijing.
MA: What does this mean for you and your skiing career?
HF: I was talking to David Wise about what this kind of means in my life and what it means for my ski career. He gave me some pretty good advice. He said “Hanna you have officially achieved your main goal for skiing, anything that is to happen next is just a bonus.” I completely agree with this because it allows me to realize that I’m going to the Olympics and of course I want to do well there but it allows me to not put pressure on myself.
MA: Would you say the Olympics is like the pinnacle? Like you made it and now you're good or just motivation to keep pushing it. I liked your statement “first Olympics” does that mean you want more!
HF: I mean of course I want more. I am still so young and hopefully will still have several more olympics and big achievements to come. I would also love to continue to push the sport and inspire younger girls to get into the sport.
MA: At what point did the Olympics become a reality as an actual goal?
HF: The Olympics have always been a dream of mine. However last year at Aspen World Champs I think that the dream turned into a goal. I knew if I worked hard at the training camps over the summer and fall and work to get some new tricks, that it could be a possibility.
MA: Any thing special you did to train, prepare, make it?
HF: I wouldn’t say that I really did anything different than the previous seasons to train and prepare myself. The one thing that I did make sure to do this season is to not let the pressure get to me. I just made sure that I was having fun and didn’t think too much about what I had to do to make the team.
MA: What’s next between now and then for you?
HF: Right now I am back home with my family, which is super nice because I haven’t seen them in such a long time. At the start of the week I will be training and competing in X Games. After that I have another few days at home and then I’m off to copper for a training camp. I will be in copper with the US team for about a week. Then we will all be driving to Denver and flying to LA. In LA we will have a day to do fitting for all of the olympic gear and then fly to China the next day.
MA: You’ve landed yourself on some solid podiums, do you think you have what you need to podium there?
HF: I definitely think that a podium at the olympics is a possibility. However I know that I will be needing to clean up several things in my run along with possibly adding in the switch cork. I also know that a lot of the other girls will be trying to step it up and improve their runs. As I have said before anything can happen.
MA: What about plans after the Olympics?
HF: I think that after the Olympics it will be good for me to spend a lot of time at home with family and friends. I have been on the road so much this year and because of covid I haven’t really been able to see any of my friends while I was home.
MA: Anything else, thank you’d? Congrats again from all of us here at Monster!
HF: There are so many people to thank throughout this journey of getting to where I am today. I would like to thank all of my sponsors including monster. Along with the US Freeski Team and my family.