Seven questions with halfpipe crystal globe winner Valeriya Demidova

The 2020/21 FIS Freeski World Cup gets underway in just under a month, and in the lead-up to the kickoff in Stubai (AUT) we're reaching out to some of last season's crystal globe winners to get a sense of what it's like to  head into a new winter as top dog, how they've held it together over what was a pretty difficult summer for everybody, and what their hopes are for the coming season and beyond. Today's feature is on 2019/20 women's halfpipe crystal globe winner Valeriya Demidova of Russia...

It's safe to say that expectations weren't especially high for Russia's Valeriya Demidova at the start of the 2019/20 FIS Freeski World Cup season. Still only 19 years then and with just a single World Cup podium to her name, Valeriya was simply looking to regain her form after missing the entirety of the 2018/19 World Cup campaign with a dislocated shoulder and torn bicep suffered in off-season training.

However, despite the fact that it had been almost a year and a half since she had dropped in on a major international competition, Valeriya came out firing at the season-opener in Cardrona (NZL), stomping three clean runs and ending up on the podium in third place for her second career podium.

After following that up with a solid fifth place finish in Copper Mountain (USA), Valeriya proceeded to go off on the final three competitions of the season, earning her first career World Cup victory at the future home of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Secret Garden (CHN), and then taking a second and a third place finish in Mammoth Mountain (USA) and Calgary (CAN), respectively. to end up just ahead of Canada's Rachael Karker on the overall standings and holding the 2019/20 FIS Freeski halfpipe World Cup crystal globe.

With that win, Valeriya became the first Russian athlete ever to win a FIS Freeski crystal globe, and just the second Russian woman in history to win a globe across all the FIS Freestyle and Freeski events.

With her standout blend of big amplitude, diverse spins, unique grabs, and unwavering consistency, it seems more than likely that we're going to see Valeriya Demidova rack up many more accolades, while likely making a little more freeski history for her nation as we move forward through the next few seasons, and we sat down with the now 20 year-old to get a sense of what it all means to her ahead of the 2020/21 World Cup season...

FIS - Last season you became the first Russian freeskier ever to win a FIS crystal globe, and just the second Russian woman ever to win a FIS Freestyle/Freeski globe. How did it feel to have such a historical win by taking the 2019/20 halfpipe globe?

Valeriya Demidova - I was super excited to win the globe last season! It means a lot to me to have such a successful comeback season after missing all of 2018/19 due to injury. I'm happy to know that my runs are strong enough to get on the podium, and I know that I can grow and progress my runs further in the next seasons.

FIS - The only other Russian woman to win a FIS Freestyle crystal globe was Elena Batalova in ski ballet, in 1999 - the year before you were born. Does it feel extra special to know that you’ve been able to break such a long drought for your nation?

VD - Being a Russian freestyle athlete is very difficult because the level of athletes from other countries is very high. You have to ski at such a high level just to get on the podium, so to also win a crystal globe is incredible for me.

Winning the globe was a very pleasant surprise for me and the Russian team, but I think we have bigger goals to which we’re working towards now. I hope in the near future there will be more such news about Russian athletes in freestyle skiing.

FIS - Tell me about how you got into freeskiing - where did you first discover the sport? Where did you first begin skiing halfpipe? Was at love right from the start?

VD - Becoming a freeskier was kind of a coincidence for me. I used to do many sports, but figure skating was my main thing, and eventually that lead towards freestyle skiing because there are some similarities.

When I joined the junior team it was in fall of 2011 and everyone started off training in moguls. Eventually, in the 2012/13 season, we were able to try halfpipe and I fell in love with it right away. So from 2012/13 I was competing in pipe and slopestyle in Russia, but after my first big injury I stopped skiing slopestyle to just focus on halfpipe.

FIS - What skiers did you look up to when you were coming up in the sport? Who do you look to for inspiration now?

VD - When I started skiing I didn't really know any freestyle skiers, so I just looked to my teammates. But then I met Marie Martinod and found out she’s just an amazing skier and an amazing person, too! I miss seeing her at competitions and watching her ski…I still have no idea how she was going so big!

Now I look to the men for inspiration in the halfpipe, guys like Noah Bowman, Aaron Blunck, Alex Ferrera and many others. Each rider has different style, amplitude, tricks, grabs, and I’m inspired by so many different aspects from different skiers.

FIS - You’ve been back on snow in Europe for a few weeks now. How much of a relief was it to get back in the pipe after what was such a crazy off-season for all of us?

VD - Me and my team are very glad that we managed to come to Saas-Fee. It wasn’t the best weather, but we still got two weeks of skiing and got to kind of remember how it’s done. I thought it would be more difficult after seven months off of snow, but it came back to me pretty quick. I hope the rest of the season goes this smooth.

FIS - You got your first World Cup podium AND your first World Cup win at the halfpipe in Secret Garden which will be the venue for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. What it is that you like about that pipe so much? How much confidence do those results give you as we head towards the Games in a year and a half?

VD - I wouldn’t say that there is something very different in China from any other venue. Really, it’s just colder there. I don't think it works that way, that one venue is special in any way. It doesn't really matter to me. It’s only my program and my runs and my confidence in my skiing that matters. If I have an advantage, it’s in my skills.

FIS - What does one perfect day in the life of Valeriya Demidova look like?

VD - If we’re not talking about skiing or doing sports, it would probably just be a wonderful day spent surrounded by my family and friends, with maybe a little drawing and photographing thrown in as well.