Winter Olympics 2022: 'A lot to catch up on!’ - Kirsty Muir could go back to school this week after impressive debut
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Published 15/02/2022 at 11:00 GMT
Kirsty Muir is already turning focus back to her school work after completing a brilliant Winter Olympic debut, finishing eighth in freestyle skiing’s slopestyle after a fifth-placed finish in big air. Team GB’s youngest athlete in Beijing says she’s been surprised by the support she has received - which included a tweet from Judy Murray. Watch every moment of the Games on discovery+.
‘Nails it!’ – 17-year-old Muir ‘showed the world’ in slopestyle final
Freestyle skier Kirsty Muir says she could return to school as soon as Friday after Team GB’s youngest athlete at the Winter Olympics said she has “a lot to catch up on”.
The 17-year-old impressed on her Games debut in Beijing, threatening the medals in big air, where she placed fifth, before ending her campaign by finishing eighth in slopestyle.
Muir is in her final year at school and she is preparing for exams, but she is yet to decide whether to focus on her sporting career, or continue her studies.
"As soon as I get home I should be in school!” she said.
“I fly home on Thursday, so definitely the Monday. Maybe even the Friday, I've got a lot to catch up on!
“I'm thinking either a gap year or head to uni this year. If I take a gap year, I'm just going to focus on skiing and then maybe go to uni alongside."
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‘Absolutely stomping!’ - GB's 17-year-old Muir stars in big air final
Muir has only been a regular on the World Cup circuit for just over a year but she was on course for a medal at one stage of the big air competition. The teenager hopes she can use it as a springboard to feature on the podium more often.
“I've got a lot to train for and I've learnt a lot here. Train a lot and compete in the World Cups and then in for Italy. I've got a lot to work on, so it's really nice to have some time to do that.
"The sport is moving at a really fast rate, so I've got a lot to do to keep up with it but this gives me motivation to keep working."
Muir was competing alongside the likes of Eileen Gu, the poster girl of Beijing 2022 who added slopestyle silver to her gold in big air, with Mathilde Gremaud taking the title. She hopes to inspire more young girls to take up the sport and says the support she has had from back home has been overwhelming - with one message coming from a well-known personality.
"Everyone at home is really proud of me and it’s really nice to have everyone’s support,” she said.
"I've had messages from my family and friends and I saw that Judy Murray tweeted me and that was really cool.
“The support at home is unbelievable and I’m really thankful for everything."
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Watch every moment of Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on discovery+
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