Get to know: Emma Treand (FRA)

France’s Emma Treand is currently battling through dark times in her career. A knee injury will sideline the 16-year-old for much of the summer but she does not give up. Find out more about her here:

How did you start with skiing / Nordic Combined?

At the beginning, I did only cross-country skiing in my ski club. The organisers in Chaux Neuve then offered ski jumping initiations for ski clubs. That's how I got to know ski jumping, I was 11 years old. After trying it out, I was immediately hooked, so I went to ski jumping training in Chaux Neuve while continuing with cross-country skiing.

Why did you pick Nordic Combined as your sport, what fascinates you most about it?

The idea of mixing two sports where the efforts are totally different is the perfect combo. In ski jumping, I have the adrenaline and concentration. But in the cross country skiing there is strength and this is where I give everything. So we have a different things to work which keeps it's interesting. I really like that.

What do you have to work harder on, the ski jumping or the cross-country skiing?

I think I'm not better in on of the two, so I need to work on the cross-country skiing side, as on the ski jumping side. But we still work more on the  the jumping part because with my coach we think it's better to start in a good position for cross country skiing.

Do you have a sports idol/role model (inside or outside of Nordic Combined)?

I don't really have an idol. I focus more on myself. I still admire the career of Jason Lamy Chapuis. And now that I got injured, I watched a lot of testimonials from athletes who have been or currently are injured. It helps me to stay positive.

What was your greatest/best/most exciting moment in Nordic Combined so far?

The Summer Grand Prix 2019 and the Youth Olympic Games. They were the biggest experiences for me and I learned a lot, for example when starting in the mixed team event. It was fantastic to start with and  learn from the greatest athletes in our sport. It was also a good start for Women's Nordic Combined.

Especially now that you are injured, what are your goals for the next season?

I got injured in late February. Following a bad landing in ski jumping  during training in Les Tuffes, I have ruptured my of the cruciate ligament (LCA).

The surgery for my injury was planned for the 6th of April, but as the Covid-19 outbreak came in between, it was postponed to the 4th of June. Rehabilitation will take 6 months so I'm going to focus on that to get back to the best possible shape. I hope to be able to jump again next winter.

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emma_treand