Kelly Sildaru has made a major comeback from her exit after a fall at the slopestyle run in Aspen, Colorado. The Estonian native carried her country's flag high up with pride and excitement at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, China.
The 19-year-old freestyle skier is the perfect poster girl for Estonia’s success at the Olympics and other major skiing events worldwide. Cross-country skier Martin Himmer accompanied her in carrying the flag. Before the big event, however, Kelly took time to recover.
The Best RecoveryKelly soaked in a natural ice stream wearing a pink bikini and cropped sweater that bared her abs. You can see the contraction in the belly muscle as she enjoys the water's caress, and preaches its benefits to everyone who cares to listen. The 19-year-old stretched her toned long legs while reclining on her elbows for support.
The Olympian tied her blonde hair in a high bun to keep the strands away from the grime and dirt on the rocks behind her.
Narrow Shave
The skier experienced an almost ghastly accident during the 2022 Olympic competition. The Estonian lost balance on her ski during the women’s big air qualifying event while trying to land a switch 1080. She may have lost a few points for failing to nail a clean landing, but she sure earns our admiration for keeping her balance and preventing a series of injuries.
The Estonian native only made one successful attempt out of three jumps; she earned 85.25 points with a 1080-degree turn. She earned 40.25 and 28.00 points in the concluding attempts.
Unfortunately, Sildaru's cumulative 125.50 points didn't cut, hence her inability to enter the finals with the shortlisted top 12 freestyle skiers for the event. She placed 17th on the scoreboard. A truly underwhelming performance.
Head UpHowever, this fallout doesn't mean Sildaru's Olympics glory days are over. The 19-year-old Tallinn native will compete in two other events: The Women's Free Ski halfpipe on February 17-18 and the Women's Free Ski Slopestyle next Sunday and Monday, respectively.
She recently won the sixth X-Games gold medal at the Olympics, which propelled her athletic career as a 13-year-old freestyle skier in 2016. She proceeded to clinch gold at the Youth Olympic Games in 2020. The Beijing Olympics is her debut full winter Olympics.
A True TrailblazerSildaru’s career has been filled with remarkable achievements and lots of medals. In just six years, the freeskier is the most successful teen competitor in history with three silver medals and one bronze title with a recent gold prize in her collection.
She’s a five-time X-Games gold medalist, earning the first at Aspen, Colorado. She came 12th place in the world cup last summer with a total of 96 points and couldn't make the end of the season owing to a knee injury that kept her out of the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
It may seem as though the legacy runs in the family, as Harry Sildaru, the skier's younger brother, earned the junior world champion title earlier in March 2021.
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