Olympics.com asked athletes at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Gangwon to share what is playing in their headphones at the start line or during the bus journeys from the Athletes’ Village to the competition venues, with some surprising results.
(OIS/Joe Toth)
As ski cross athletes are lining up at the starting line and preparing to race, Morgan Shute is cheerily humming a tune.
An energetic ‘ole, ole’ can be heard as the USA freestyle skier gets ready to drop in to the frosty course with a bit of encouragement from Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, and Claudia Leitte.
“’We are One’, that’s definitely one I like to listen to,” the Gangwon 2024 double silver medallist told Olympics.com about her race playlist. “Sometimes I sing that at the start too.”
“I listen to ‘Pepas’ too. Sometimes ‘Pump it Up’ to get excited,” Shute added. “They get me hyped. They get me excited for the race.”
The music playlists at the fourth Winter Youth Olympic Games are as diverse as the athletes competing in them, but as with any competition, there are some frontrunners and fan favourites. Olympics.com asked athletes about their song choices to discover who is ruling the competition at Gangwon 2024 when it comes to firing up the world’s best with their music.
Italy’s Giorgia Collomb has shown plenty of magic on the alpine skiing slopes at Gangwon 2024, and she has a magical set list to match.
“I have a playlist of Disney soundtracks. I like them a lot, they motivate me,” the Youth Olympic champion said. “My favourites are The Princess and the Frog or Mulan.”
While there are no enchanted frogs or sword-wielding Chinese warriors on Mason Hamel’s playlist, there is a tune he is sure has magical powers over him.
“My first best win came from listening to ‘We Belong’ by Pat Benatar at the top, over and over again, every run, so that's kind of always been a staple,” the USA snowboard cross athlete said.
When not listening to the 80s rock starlet, Hamel opts for tracks that are as soothing for the ears as they are for his pre-competition nerves.
“Probably just calming music,” he said about the songs he listens to before a race. “Just go find a calm music playlist on Spotify and play it, hopefully some songs I haven't heard of just to get my mind off of what's at stake and have a good day.”
Hamel’s long-time friend and teammate Boden Gerry is on the opposite end of the musical scale.
“I'm listening to Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Chief Keef, something to hype me up, maybe some EDM,” he said. “Some crazy sounds just to get my blood flowing.”
Although Travis Scott rules the snowboarder’s playlist, there is one important condition to make the cut.
“I'd say really anything from Travis Scott that's not really calm. Sometimes he has some calm music, but anything hyped from Travis Scott is usually what I've got bumping in my ears,” Gerry said. “Maybe ‘Hyaena' off of his new album. That's a great song.”
Liam McKenna is also not looking for music that would calm him down. Just the opposite. The USA bobsleigh athlete wants to hear music that makes him extremely angry.
“I start off with rap, very heavy rap. You would listen to it and you'd be like, ‘Oh my God, this kid is insane’,” he said. “And then - this is going to sound really weird - but for my first run, I listen to Motley Crue ‘Kickstart my Heart’, and then going into my second run, it's like an EDM. It's called ‘Unicorn on Ketamine’. I know that sounds really bad, but it is just static noise blaring at full volume into my ears. It gets me really mad and makes me want to push a sled really fast.”
Canada's Matthew Lepine also uses music to inject a bit of anger into his slopestyle and Big Air competitions.
“A lot of rap,” the freestyle skier said about the songs on his playlist. “A lot of more aggressive rap, like Chief Keef. [He] is big, aggressive, gets you amped up, ready to ski.”
Brazilian snowboarder Zion Bethonico, on the other hand, prefers his angry music with a classic twist.
“I listen to a lot of 90s rock,” the Gangwon 2024 boardercross bronze medallist said. “Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, just old 90s rock. I'm really into it.”
Freestyle skier Charlie Beatty also has a weakness for the classics.
“I got some old hip hop on there. I got some rock,” the Canadian athlete said about his playlist. “My dad's a big rock guy, so grew up listening to a lot of Guns n' Roses and all that stuff.”
The junior slopestyle world champion often pops in his headphones before a run and lets the music bring him creative inspiration.
“When you're in the really thick of it, in the jumps and stuff and you're in mid-air, you don't really hear much, but before you drop in, you hear some songs come on, you're like, 'Oh, this is super cool',” Beatty said. “It gets you in the zone and gets you in that little flow state of mind, and it gets to really show your emotion out there.”
When it comes to the music superstar of the slopes, Eminem is a popular choice among snowboarders and freestyle skiers alike.
Italian rider Lisa Francesia Boirai is a fan, as is Switzerland’s Noah Kocherhans.
“Eminem, he pushes you a lot. His music pushes you a lot,” the Swiss snowboard crosser explained.
ACDC is Kocherhans’ other top pick while USA luger Orson Colby turns to USA rapper, NF.
“Ones I always listen to is my favourite artist, NF,” Colby said. “He gets me hyped with some of his songs before going down. I like getting hype music in me before I go.”
Austrian rider David Erhard takes a lighter approach with “some classic rap that is a little chill” and has a playlist that overflows with offerings from top British rappers.
Brianna Schnorrbusch also sources the best of both continents. ‘A Lot’ by British-American rapper 21 Savage is her ultimate go-to before dropping into a snowboard cross race.
“That's the one that gets me pumping and ready to go,” the USA athlete said. “It depends on my mood definitely, but either a rock song or one of the rap songs that I like.”
Canada’s Anthony Shelly does not stick to any particular music genre. The snowboard cross silver medallist can switch up his playlist just as quickly as he pumps rollers.
“My bus ride here, I was like, got my music on and I was getting excited,” Shelly said of competition day at Welli Hilli Ski Park Resort. “At first I had a bit of classical music going on. I play piano, so I had a bit of classical music going on, and then I had my hype rave music going after the classical music. It was a big switch up in the morning, but it was good.”
Alpine combined gold medallist Zac Carrick-Smith is also a master shuffler, and not just between speed and technical events. Rihanna's voice fuelled the runs that led to Carrick-Smith winning Great Britain’s first Youth Olympic gold in alpine skiing.
“My playlist is very varied,” the skier said. “I may be listening to a bit of Eminem, maybe at the start, but I also might be listening to Ed Sheeran. It really depends on how I'm feeling in the moment.”
Fellow alpine skier Annika Hunt of USA alternates between FIFA World Cup theme songs, Pitbull and Katy Perry, while Austrian snowboarder Moritz Murer selects his playlist based on how much time is left before a competition.
“I'm going to hear hardstyle or something for the high adrenaline,” Murer said of the music he listens to on the commute from the Athletes’ Village to the mountains. “Maybe during the competition when I go on the lift, I'm going to hear some chill music.”
Germany’s Romy Ertl is another athlete who doesn't stick to just one music style. However, the alpine skier does have a clear frontrunner.
“My favourite artist is Taylor Swift. I really like her music and I listen to a lot of albums from her,” said Ertl, who has 'Wildest Dreams' playing on repeat during Gangwon 2024.
“Taylor Swift really hits the spot,” Canadian snowboard crosser Hannah Turkington agreed. “Anything by Taylor Swift.”