How Queralt Castellet and Chloe Kim inspire each other to reach greater heights in their sport

When the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 women’s snowboard halfpipe competition begins on 9 February, Queralt Castellet will be one of the stars you’ll want to keep your eyes on.

Castellet is preparing to compete in her fifth Olympic Winter Games and is one of two flagbearers for the Spanish team. Over the past season, she has finished on the podium in every single international competition she has taken part in, including the World Cup, Dew Tour and X Games. She also enters the Games as the reigning World Championship bronze medallist, having come third in the competition in 2021.

Read on for an exclusive interview with a star who will go head-to-head with Chloe Kim at the Games.

Olympics.com (OC): Beijing 2022 will be your fifth Olympic Games. What does the word 'Olympics' mean to you?

Queralt Castellet (QC): The Olympics are really important as they are the opportunity to showcase sports such as mine. Thanks to the Olympics many people are aware of what I do. It’s the biggest competition and the one every athlete dreams about.

OC: What makes Beijing 2022 special?

QC: We’ve faced many challenges over the past two years, so we’re learning to view and approach sport in a different way. I am grateful for snowboard every day. Every time I’m in the mountains, I feel that need to make the most of it because I know what it feels like to not be able to do that. We’ve been forced to live in the now, to realise how lucky we are - things that we took for granted before. I think that’s special and I will go to the Games thinking about how lucky we are that they are taking place.

"Snowboard is a way to express yourself"

OC: This season you have been on the podium in every event you have competed in, and you have also been very creative. Where does this desire to keep innovating come from?

QC: The thing I like most about sport is being able to learn, and the more comfortable I am on the board, and the more I understand my sport and the mountain, the more it reflects in my performances.

OC: Where do you find the inspiration to create new tricks?

QC: From other snowboarders, from myself and the way I performed the day before, and from the tricks I imagine I’d like to do. Those things inspire me every day.

OC: Many people consider snowboard halfpipe to be an art form. What do you think about that?

QC: Totally. Snowboard is a way to express yourself. Snowboard always changes in the same way that life does. It’s very easy to identify with this sport and transmit that to the spectators. You may like a type of art that I don’t - everyone paints differently. And snowboard is like that, you decide what you want to create, and that’s something really special.

OC: If snowboarding is a way to express yourself, what do you want to express at Beijing 2022?

QC: I'd like to express everything that snowboard gives me, everything that it has meant to me all my life. I would like people to be able to see this and almost touch it.

OC: Of course, snowboard is also a competitive sport, and one of your main competitors is Olympic champion Chloe Kim. What do you think about her?

QC: Technically she is great. She’s a rival but also someone I train with. I snowboard with her almost every day, so you can decide she is your rival and gain nothing, or create new things thanks to her. We push each other and motivate one another to try new things. We value each other as athletes, not as rivals, and she’s a very good athlete. There are many women who prefer not to talk about the competitive aspect but I learn much more from getting along with people and having a friend to share my daily life with.

OC: And that's the case with Chloe Kim?

QC: It would be easy to not talk about competitions with anyone, but with her it’s the opposite. She has a great Olympic spirit. We respect each other and that’s something I’ve learned during my career: you need to be positive and maintain good relationships with other athletes.