Piano-savvy snowboarder Vanessa Volopichova ready to light up the stage at Gangwon 2024
The Czech athlete is a teen of many talents. From playing piano to learning languages and running sprints, Volopichova is proof that you can make time for anything if you have passion.
Snowboard
Vanessa Volopichova’s favourite music is not what one would typically expect to find in a snowboarder’s playlist: waltzes and baroque.
But soon some K-pop tunes might creep into that selection as well. The multi-talented athlete, who is also a passionate pianist, is among the new generation of snowboarders headed to the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.
"I really want to get to the Olympics. I would be really glad if I get there," the 16-year-old freestyler told Olympics.com ahead of her selection for the Czech delegation.
With a slopestyle gold medal from the 2023 European Youth Olympic Festival already in her bag and some solid performances at the senior World Cup and European Cup, expect Volopichova to put on a show in the Republic of Korea as only a natural-born performer can.
Vanessa Volopichova won Slopestyle gold at the EYOF 2023
A champion snowboarder from a skiing family
Volopichova can sell snowboarding to the most die-hard skiing fan.
"That I'm free," the teen athlete said about what she likes most about her sport. "That I can fly like a bird and I can do whatever I want."
And so, she does. A lone snowboarder in a family of skiers, Volopichova didn’t think twice about making the switch herself at age seven.
She started skiing when she was two years old and has two sisters who also ski. Her younger brother, however, ultimately followed in her footsteps and also opted for snowboarding.
Three years after starting to ride, Volopichova fell in love with the freestyle side of snowboarding.
She now specialises in slopestyle and Big Air and has finished among the Top 9 in Big Air at the 2023 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia.
At the Junior Worlds in Cardrona, New Zealand, last August, she led the qualification in both disciplines, but she failed to secured a medal. Since then, she's been recovering from an ankle fracture.
Her mother is a former Miss Slovakia
When it comes to jumps, Volopichova doesn’t hold back. The bigger, the better.
"I like big jumps, which are really good," she said. "Of course, I'm a little scared, but I want to fight with the fear and push myself more. So I love to listen to music when I'm riding and it really helps me."
Whether perched on a 60-metre Big Air ramp or down on the ground in the warm-up area, music is a big part of Volopichova’s fearlessness - and zest for life.
"I love playing the piano. I play since I was five years old and I love music, in general," the athlete said. “I want to get better in piano and I just love playing the piano. It's my passion."
Volopichova puts in the hours too. Whenever she is at home, she takes music lessons and plays the piano with her mother, Andrea Veresova. The model and Miss Slovakia 1999 accompanies her daughter on the snowboard tour.
While classical music are Volopichova's favourite pieces to play, her playlist has a very different sound. Hip hop and rap take centre stage there.
Another unexpected favourite? French music.
"I love French songs. I love the French language," Volopichova said.
And it's not just French. In addition to the language of the next Olympic hosts, the snowboarder can speak Czech, Slovakian, English, and some German.
"I love speaking different languages," she said. "I like to learn new languages and I really want to learn Spanish because it's so nice."
Eyeing X-Games participation
Snowboarding, music and languages are not the only passions of this multi-talented teen. Volopichova also plays tennis and trains on the track in the sprint and long jump.
But while her favourite destinations are all summer spots, don’t expect Volopichova to swap snowboarding for athletics just yet. She has very clear goals for what she wants to accomplish on the slopes first.
"I want to be more confident when I snowboard," Volopichova said. "I want to ride all the World Cups and make a good result, and I want to get to the X-Games one day. That's my dream.
"I dream about the X-Games because all the super good riders are there and I want to someday ride with them," she added, referring in particular to her personal idols, Olympic slopestyle champion and multiple X-Games champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Beijing 2022 slopestyle bronze medallist Tess Coady.
"I want to be someday like them."
After Volopichova's upcoming turn on the Gangwon slopes, perhaps there will be young riders saying the same about her.