Kelly Sildaru on cloud nine ahead of Olympic debut at Beijing 2022
The freestyle skiing athlete has been selected to be the flagbearer for Estonia at the Opening Ceremony after missing her chance to compete at PyeongChang 2018 due to injury.
Freestyle Skiing
What an Olympic debut for Kelly Sildaru!
Not only has the Estonian freestyle skier been selected to be her country's flagbearer during the Opening Ceremony at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. She also has the special opportunity to celebrate her 20th birthday in the most unique way possible.
The 2020 Youth Olympic champion will celebrate her birthday at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park, competing in the freeski halfpipe qualification runs on February 17, hoping to secure her place in the finals the next day.
By then, Sildaru would have already competed in her other two events, big air and slopestyle, and could be looking to secure her third Olympic final appearance, a third Olympic medal or in the best-case scenario, a third Olympic title.
The prospects of the 2019 freeski halfpipe world champion at these Games are huge, but for now she is just pleased to be able to compete at her maiden Olympic Games.
"I guess I don't have a birthday wish so far, I'm super happy to be at the Olympics and to be healthy right now. That's the most important thing for me now." - Kelly Sildaru
MORE: Kelly Sildaru: Top five things you need to know about the queen of freestyle skiing
Getting a taste of what to expect at the Olympics
Sildaru burst onto the scene at the 2016 Winter X Games when - at the age of 13 - she became the youngest gold medalist to date and the first Estonian to claim a title at the event.
She was considered a gold-medal favourite for PyeongChang 2018, but an injury saw her miss out on making her Olympic debut. The following year she clinched the freeski halfpipe world championship crown.
While Beijing 2022 will be her Olympic debut, Sildaru has already had a taste of the Olympics when she competed in the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, where she picked up gold in the freeski slopestyle event. Her experience in Switzerland is playing into her hands right now.
"Before I went to the Youth Olympic Games, I didn't really know what to expect from the Olympics. So it was just kind of like a warm up for me. Now when I come here, I know what to expect and what this event will be like." - Kelly Sildaru
Sildaru aiming to make Olympic history for Estonia
Estonia's participation at the Winter Olympic Games dates back to 1928, and the nation has managed seven Winter Games medals, all of which have come from cross country skiing with four of them being gold.
Sildaru will have three opportunities at Beijing 2022 to become the first Estonian to win a Winter Games medal in a sport other than cross country skiing, an achievement that definitely excites her.
"Winning a medal here at the Olympics would mean so, so much to me. I missed the last Olympics through injury, so it's just great to be back here and I'm super excited about competing."
But first, she'll kick-off her maiden Olympic appearance in the most memorable way ever after being selected as her nations's flag bearer, along with cross-country skier Martin Himma, confessing that she's "very excited about carrying the Estonian flag at the Opening Ceremony."
When will Kelly Sildaru compete at Beijing 2022?
Sildaru is set to take part in three events here at Beijing 2022, starting with the freeski big air, then the freeski slopestyle and freeski halfpipe on the following dates:
7 February - Freeski Big Air - Qualification runs (Big Air Shougang)
8 February - Freeski Big Air - Finals
13 February - Freeski Slopestyle - Qualification runs (Zhangjiakou Ginting Snow Park)
14 February - Freeski Slopestyle - Finals
17 February - Freeski Halfpipe - Qualifying runs (Zhangjiakou Ginting Snow Park)
18 February - Freeski Halfpipe - Finals