Kirsty Muir: The Crystal Globe Interview

From never-been-dones to never-ending recoveries, from the top of the podium one week to missing finals the next, from stomping your finest run to falling on your easiest trick, life in the Park & Pipe game is one of seemingly endless ups and and downs.

Few World Cup athletes over the last few seasons have become more familiar with the trials of life in the Freeski fast lane than Great Britain’s Kirsty Muir, whose last three seasons have seen her bouncing like a yo-yo from triumph to tribulation and back again. 

Early in the 2023/24 season Kirsty was riding high on a pair of back-to-back Big Air podiums, first with a second place in Beijing (CHN), and then a third place at the U.S. Grand Prix in Copper Mountain (USA), where she crashed hard in her second run before then stomping her third and final attempt to earn her way onto the podium.

However, that crash in run two turned out to be more serious than Kirsty initially though, as she tore her ACL while also damaging her meniscus and hamstring, forcing surgery the next month.  Shortly after the knee surgery, she’d go under the knife yet again to repair a lingering shoulder issue and, just like that, a year in the prime of her young career would be lost to injury and recovery.

Thirteen months after her bittersweet third place in Copper, Kirsty was back in the World Cup bib and straight back into contention, earning her first World Cup victory a month and a half after her return at the Tignes (FRA) Mountain Shaker Slopestyle.

To begin the 2025/26 Olympic season Kirsty came out swinging, taking the first Big Air victory of her World Cup career at the season opener in Secret Garden (CHN). She would then have a massive couple of weeks in Aspen (USA), winning Slopestyle at the U.S. Grand Prix World Cup, and then following that up with the most impressive competition day of her career at the same venue two weeks later, winning X Games Slopestyle in the morning and then claiming X Games Big Air bronze that very same evening. To say she was heading into the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games as a medal hopeful would be an understatement. 

Unfortunately, the Games in Italy didn’t go quite to plan, as Kirsty found herself just outside the podium looking, registering heartbreaking fourth place finishes in both the Big Air and Slopestyle finals and leaving Livingo with nothing but lingering questions of ‘What if…?’

The 22-year-old from Aberdeen didn’t linger long though, as she picked herself up and absolutely charged through the remainder of the 2025/26 World Cup season. Locking in two wins and a runner-up finish in the final four World Cup competitions of the winter, she earned herself not only the Slopestyle Crystal Globe and the Overall trophy as the top women’s Freeskier of the season, but also become the first British woman in FIS history to win either of those titles. 

Ups and downs, round and round…2025/26 was a season that had it all for Kirsty Muir, and we caught up with her back home in Scotland to talk about how it all went down. Read on for the latest in our Crystal Globe Interview series…

FIS - Hi Kirsty! Great to talk to you. Judging from your Instagram profile it looks like you’ve been having a pretty good off-season so far…

KIRSTY MUIR - Yeah, the downtime was definitely needed. Last season was a whirlwind of a winter. Even though it’s always like that, it’s especially hectic in an Olympic season…so yeah I’ve really appreciated some downtime and some travel of the more summery kind. It's not often we get to just travel just for travel’s sake.

FIS - Yeah to be out there without a ski bag in tow must be nice.

KM - Oh yeah, exactly. Just one suitcase, so nice, and the summer suitcase is a little bit lighter than the winter, but also having so many more outfit choices is good. 

FIS - How important has it been for you to get that break after this past season? 

KM - It was super, super essential for me. My off-season started kind of early with having shoulder surgery, so I had an enforced end to my season. But then, after I got the surgery, I started the first rehab and then in that middle ground I was able to take a lot more time to go away and just have more downtime, which has been nice.

FIS - Was that the same shoulder needing more repairs that you had fixed a couple seasons ago, or was that a new injury? 

KM - No, it was the other side. So it was the exact same surgery as I had the previous time, but on the other shoulder. So yeah, I’m just becoming a robot or something like that, putting more pieces in (haha). But yeah, I was just partially dislocating my shoulder all the time since May 2025, so I needed to get it sorted. 

FIS - I figure it’s best to just tackle this one early - finishing 4th place in both your events at the Olympics is probably about as heartbreaking a result as anyone could really imagine. But the way that you returned to the World Cup after the disappointment of the Games - qualified first in three of the last comps, won slopestyle in Tignes, took second place in Silvaplana - all that showed so much resilience. I wanted to get your perspective on on what it was like getting back to those World Cup competitions after that Olympic experience and doing what you did, which was pretty incredible. 

KM - Yeah, I think although the Olympics was kind of devastating, I was also very proud of myself and how it all went down, because I still showed some of my best skiing. 

And then it was just a short recoup time and then straight back into (the World Cup), and I just kind of switched my focus. 

I’ve been saying to a lot of people - I don't just have a singular goal. It wasn't just the Olympics (this past season). When I knew that the Crystal Globes were in sight, I was like, ‘I really, really want to go for this.’  But it wasn’t to prove anything to anyone else. It was more just to prove myself that I could do it. Although I don’t know if that’s the right way to put it.

I really enjoy competing, so I just kind of went back to competition with a fresh perspective after the Olympics. I kind of moved on immediately because it was a quick turnaround. Every comp is its own comp and every course is different, so I just went out there and had some more fun.

FIS - Yeah, and obviously fourth place at the Olympics, most people would trade their left pinky finger for that result, especially when you look at the quality of skiers you’re up against there. It can be hard to explain to regular people that a pair of fourth place finishes is really amazing when everything is focussed on medals.

KM - Exactly. I mean, it's just that the Olympics has so much of a wider audience, and maybe not as many of them know a lot about the sport, you know?

FIS - Back to the Globes - you walked away with the Slopestyle and the Overall titles, becoming the first British woman to win either of those Globes. Could you maybe just like talk us through what what it means to win a season-long trophy like the Crystal Globe after the grind of the World Cup season? 

KM - Yeah, as you say, it’s points compiled over the whole season. But at the start of a season, I don't feel like you can ever have that specifically as your goal, because you really don't know how the season's gonna play out. But my season went super well, and then it was just more the kind of last few comps that I really was like, wow, this is really something I could maybe pull off.

I definitely thought about the Globes since I started on the World Cup. I thought it would be so sick to do, and it's unbelievable to walk away with them. And also it’s my whole team around me helping to make it happen. We all just worked super hard at each comp, and it kind of played out in our favour. But yeah, it was very much a grind and had lots and lots of ups and downs throughout the season. Overall, it was a good outcome. 

FIS - And, of course, you claimed your first X Games win last year, taking gold in slope and then adding silver in big air and those are obviously hugely meaningful podiums. Tell me about that experience. 

KM - Yeah, that was an unbelievable weekend. I think that was probably my favourite day ever. With the big air comp getting moved to the Sunday, we had slope in the morning, and then big air at night, and that was an actual whirlwind. 

The slope run I put down was one that I'd been kind of dreaming of for years. So, that, in itself, was such a huge achievement for me. And then to come away with the win, it was super mind-blowing. Crazy. 

And then a couple hours later, I had to reset and then go again for big air, and the big air comp was kind of super gnarly, too. The weather was kind of insane. Not everyone was keen to do the comp, but we ended up doing it, and, like…I’ve never sit-tucked so much into a jump. I was getting slung in at the top, too. It was actually insane. 

In practice I was just doing a couple cork sevens, and then immediately, first run, going to 14, then going 16 on the next one. It was a big trust-yourself moment, just go for it, and I kind of put everything on the line. 

FIS - I was remembering a moment a couple of seasons ago, I forget which event, but the MC said something about ‘up-and-coming Kirsty Muir,’ and you kind of looked around and said, ‘I don't think I'm really up-and-coming anymore.’ Do you remember that? 

KM - Yeah, if it was a couple years ago, I would have been like probably a 19 or 20, like 20, and this is very much a young person's sport. I've been on the World Cup since I was 15.

FIS - I was wondering if there's if there's a moment where you felt like you had really arrived amongst the world's best, whether there was a competition or something where it clicked and you were just like, 'Oh, I'm here and I'm very much in the mix with the best girls in the world'? 

KM - Hmm. I vividly remember around the 2022 Olympics still being very shy, not really talking to many people, kind of feeling pretty heavy imposter syndrome. But after that, when everyone was in post-Olympic mode, into Spring Battle, The Nines, all the fun events, and I really kind of got brought out my shell by a few of the girls. I was with Katie Summerhayes on Team GB at the Games, but then like Aliah Eichinger, Laura Wallner, Lara Wolf, Megan Oldham, and everyone else at Spring Battle. It was just kind of a big crew. It was great.

The next season I really felt much more like I belonged on the circuit. But it was less so to do with my skiing, and more so to do with feeling really part of the community. Not that I ever felt not part of it before, but maybe I finally felt able to let myself be part of the community.

I think after that my skiing showed better than before, because I feel like you've got to enjoy what you do to it to your best.

FIS - Some people have signature tricks, and maybe yours is your 16, which is one of the best in the game, but I was I was wondering what's your own take on your skiing? Like, what in your mind sets you apart? Or maybe a different way of putting it is - what are you trying to show and makes you happiest when you walk away from a good run?

KM - Oh. I don't know. It's weird to talk about yourself like that, isn't it? That's what this interview is about though, I know. 

Like, obviously, I’m trying to do the best tricks I can do, but also I’m trying to add my own style and keeping it as smooth as possible. Kind of trying to make it look effortless. I think some of the best skiing truly does look practically effortless. 

Each run I drop into, I’m trying to have something in the run that I feel really pushes myself, whether that’s changing a jump from qualies to finals, adding a dub or something like that, or changing up my rails. I just fully want to continue pushing myself and pushing the sport every time I ski. 

FIS - Back to injuries for a sec. Losing a good chunk of the 2024 and 25 seasons, during what are really critical years and seasons in a freeskier’s career, and then coming back as strongly as you did, what do you think you learned about yourself from going through all that? 

KM - Well, I definitely think I had a lot of personal growth throughout that time. I think I learned a lot about patience. I think, beforehand, I was pretty much, like, ‘We need to do everything now! Go, go, go!’ But taking 11 months off of the only thing that you've known and just kind of having to take time and grind out at the gym, and do the kind of more mundane stuff, you learn a lot more about patience. 

And I learned a lot more myself and what I need as an athlete, whether that’s when I need to rest, when I need to push harder, whatever. Before I kind of felt very guilty on rest days. In our sport, rest days are either essential because of what we put our body through, or mandatory because of bad weather, and I think being able to accept when rest is needed was quite a big thing. 

FIS - We’re about three months away from the start of the 2026/27 season.. What are your goals for this winter? Are you gonna be full speed ahead, doing every comp you can, or are you going to be a little bit more tactical with this one?

KM - I think we're still very much just kind of trying to figure out. I’m quite excited for X Games League this year, that's gonna be really new for us, and then the (Montafon 2027) World Championships, that’s always a big one. But also I think I would love to take some more time and really push myself with my skiing outside of the comp scene. 

Last year it was almost all comps, and I think coming back from knee surgery straight into Olympic qualifications, straight into the Olympic season, I don't feel like I've had much time, really, to progress outside of the comp scene, whether that’s training new, big tricks, or focusing on my creative side. I was watching some old videos, and I was like, ‘Right now I wouldn't consider hitting that kicker that way or doing that trick that way,’ and I would love to have a bit more time to be more creative and find ways of doing things differently. 

But yeah, as you said, the season is rapidly approaching, but I've not made any decision yet. 

FIS - Ok, last one. Who's in your top 3 all time favourite freeskiers, and also one skier who’s on the come-up who you’re excited about?

KM - Well, from like six years old on, Woodsy (James Woods) was always the guy that I looked up to the most. Woodsy’s got to be on there. And also I always very much looked up to Sarah (Hoefflin), too. And… probably Henrik (Harlaut).

And then, I think Indra (Brown). I’m really stoked to see her progression. She had an absolute breakout season herself last year, and I know she'd love to do more in every kind of realm - big air, slope, and pipe. So I'm really intrigued to see her progression, because she already had such a crazy, insane season in the pipe. But then in Tignes she was fourth in the big air, doing amazing. She’s on a tear, so it's gonna be really cool to see. 

FIS - Yeah, for sure she;’s awesome. I know she beat you, but how cool was it to see Sarah back on top of the podium there in Silvaplana? 

KM - Oh yeah, super, super sick. I mean, she never stops pushing herself. She’s just super inspiring, and so sick that she just wants to keep going and keep doing it. It's a lot of impact on our bodies, but we'll keep pushing for it, you know? So I was just super happy for her. As you literally said, I know she beat me, but it's in those moments sometimes it’s like, someone beat me, but still I'm so unbelievably stoked, you know? 

FIS - Heck, yeah, Kirsty. That's great. Thanks so much for your time!