Sildaru, who first shot to fame at the age of just 13 after taking gold at the 2016 X Games in Aspen, Colorado, was Estonia's only medalist at the last Winter Games in Beijing in 2022, which she achieved in the slopestyle event.

This time, however, she is giving the slopestyle category a miss and is only competing in the halfpipe in Livigno, the freestyle skiing's Italian alpine setting.

Sildaru gave an interview to ERR's Sport portal in which she talked about turning 24 while the Games were going on, about shaking off injury and the knee surgery she had in late 2024, and about star Chinese freestyle skier Eileen Gu, who earlier in the week fairly shook off a question about "only" bagging silver in the slopestyle and big air events.

Kelly Sildaru, you came to Italy direct from training camp in Switzerland. Tell us how it went there and what you focused on?

I think the training camp went very well. Of course, things could always go better. There were still some things or tricks I wanted to do but didn't get to. But the main focus was really on being at altitude to gain more amplitude, because that plays a very big role in the halfpipe. And I did gain that. It definitely gave me a lot of confidence. I think the camp was certainly worthwhile.

Before qualification all the athletes had three chances to train in the Olympic halfpipe. How much confidence and feedback did that give you?

The training conditions here have been a bit of a mixture. It snowed the first two days, then on the first day there was even a particularly strong blizzard, with wind at the beginning. But we still managed to do some things. Today was definitely the best training day as the weather conditions were better. The sun was shining, and the pipe was very fast compared with the previous days.

In January, when asked what you were most looking forward to, you said that first of all you just wanted to get to Livigno. Considering all the trials and challenges you've gone through, how much does that fear still linger in the back of your mind?

It does sit in the back of my mind a little. I don't think about it daily while skiing, but to some extent it has definitely left its mark: injuries in my athletic career. Maybe it's harder to push myself, but that's normal. It all takes time to come back. Right now, inevitably, there has been very little time between my first competition and the Olympics. And it almost feels like, with the injuries, especially when you have two like that in a row, you don't even start from zero, but slightly below that. At first you have to rebuild your confidence and find that good feeling while skiing. That's a hard thing to do. But I think at this moment I'm in a very good position. Maybe when arriving here I hoped to be in slightly better shape, but in today's training I felt very good and that gave me a good feeling for tomorrow's qualification.

Can you enjoy it more this time?

I have been trying to enjoy it, but inevitably the Olympic pressure is there. It is a bigger and more important competition than World Cup stages. I do try to enjoy it, but naturally I also have expectations or a run in my head that I've thought about for a long time and would like to do at the Olympics. I'm not yet sure whether I'll manage it in qualification tomorrow. You have to take it one moment at a time, see what the weather is like and how I feel on competition day. In the end there is some pressure, but you try to put that aside and ride for yourself.

How much attention does your comeback receive among competitors? How often do rivals come up to talk to you and say they're happy to see you back competing?

Quite a lot, I'd say. Many come to say kind words, that it's great I'm doing things again and nice to see me riding again. They also understand that right now I'm pushing myself. Even some old tricks I did four years ago that I hadn't done since the injury. Others notice it; the coaches praise it and point it out. I think others are genuinely happy that I'm back on the snow and skiing.

You're focusing only on halfpipe. How different is that compared to when you had to focus on three or two disciplines, and now can concentrate on just one?

So far I really like focusing only on halfpipe and I think it was a very good decision. I've always been a bit jealous of others at competitions — for example, those who only do slopestyle. They finish and go home. But I'd spend the whole day at the venue waiting for halfpipe training to start. Or vice versa, those who come in the evening to do pipe. I always had that feeling of wanting to finish training and then relax. In that sense I'm glad I can focus on one thing. Coming back from injuries, focusing on all three would have been a bit too big a step, especially mentally, to reach this top level. So I think it was the only right decision.

Eileen Gu spoke up about there being just one halfpipe training session taking place during the Big Air final. Is that unavoidable?

It's always a bit unfortunate when situations like that arise. In Beijing, on the day I won bronze, halfpipe training was actually taking place at the same time and I went straight to training after winning the medal, so I missed part of it. But to some extent that is unavoidable, and I think when an athlete decides to compete in three disciplines, they have to be ready to sacrifice something. Inevitably, if you train three disciplines, you are already sacrificing something. At the Olympics and competitions in general you want to show yourself and practice as much as possible everywhere, but it ultimately depends on each athlete's own feeling.

You mentioned the medal, and you've had two celebratory days recently. First, how much do you think about the bronze from four years ago while being at the Olympics now?

I do think about it a little. Especially now, with medal ceremonies happening and others winning medals. It reminds me as well. I don't think I even knew for a long time, or I never really think about what day I won that bronze. One day I woke up and Facebook showed a memory from four years ago. It's pretty cool to be at the Olympics again. I try to remember my medal and when I go home I'll go look at it. I really value that I have a medal at home.

It was your birthday yesterday. How did you get to celebrate it in Livigno?

I didn't really do much. Let me think what we did: We went to eat in the morning, walked around town a bit and bought a cake that we haven't had time to eat yet. But today we're planning a small gathering with the family who are here, just to enjoy a bit and maybe get to eat that cake.

In freestyle skiing, Slopestyle requires navigating a full course of multiple rails and jumps. Halfpipe involves performing tricks while going back and forth in a 22-foot deep U-shaped ramp. Big air focuses on a single, massive jump to execute the most difficult tricks. Japan's Mari Fukada took gold in the Milano Cortina slopestyle event and Megan Oldham (Canada) won the big air event.

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