At just 24-years-old Canadian freestyle skier and already-Olympian, Megan Oldham is just getting started. At the young age of five, Oldham was already hitting the slopes. Through family trips out West, venturing from her hometown of Newmarket, Ontario, the athlete learned her first tricks from her boisterous brothers who had a love for being wild on skis.

Initially into figure skating and gymnastics growing up, Oldham really dove into the sport of skiing at the older age of 15. Her first real competition was entering the IS World Cup circuit in 2018-19, and only a short season later she clinched gold in the big air event at the World Cup in Norway.

Making her Olympic debut at the Beijing 2022 games, the freestyle skier proved herself to be a force to be reckoned with by finishing just off the big air podium, and just spot short of qualifying for the slopestyle final. Now, she’s looking ahead to making her second appearance as a Team Canada athlete at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games and hungry to bring home some hardware.

Do you remember the moment you decided skiing at a professional level was what you wanted to do?

MO: “It’s interesting because I never had a single “aha” moment where I decided I wanted to be a professional skier, it was more of a natural progression. I was actually pretty reluctant to start freestyle skiing at all, it was my older brother who pushed me into giving it a chance. Eventually I agreed to a trial day with him and his team at my local mountain, Mount St. Louis, and instantly fell in love with it. That first day I was hooked! I loved the feeling of being in the air and the satisfaction of finally landing a trick after countless attempts. After that day, I realized I wanted to keep doing more of it, though I never imagined it would take me this far. What started as riding on weekends turned into weekdays, then into trying competitions and so on. My progression in the sport ramped up quickly and sometimes I feel like I blinked and suddenly found myself competing alongside my idols.”

How does it feel to represent Canada at this upcoming Olympic Games in Milan?

MO: “Representing Canada at the upcoming Olympics is the biggest honor. Wearing the maple leaf on the world’s biggest stage is something magical. After experiencing my first Olympics, I was amazed at how the Games brought families, communities, and people from around the world together as one. I was deeply touched by how inspired people felt watching sport preformed at the highest level. Being part of a movement that encourages others to chase their passions, try new sports or experiences, or simply step outside their comfort zones is meaningful to me. I love how the Olympics unite people and I can’t wait to represent Canada again.”

What is your pre-ski routine? Do you have any rituals?

MO: “I wouldn’t say I have any extreme rituals; however, I always do the same visualization routine before competing. I stand at the top of the course and imagine myself hitting every feature slowly doing my comp run. I do this twice in a row top to bottom of the course and then take a few deep breaths before I go.”

When it comes to beauty and/or skincare, do you have any products you can’t live without when out on the mountain?

MO: “SUNSCREEN! Most important skincare for me. We get a lot of high-altitude exposure where the UV radiation is much stronger. Even on cloudy days I always put sunscreen on to avoid getting burnt. I personally really love the Paul’s Choice Youth Extending Hydrating Fluid—its lightweight, fugal acne safe, and good for my sensitive skin. Likewise, I’m a huge fan of the Purrito Oat In Calming Gel Moisturizer. My skin gets extremely dry, since I am basically living in winter year round. I find this moisturizer very hydrating but not overpowering to the point that it makes my skin break out.”

What advice would you give to younger girls who want to follow the same path as you one day?

MO: “The advice I would give younger girls starting out is to avoid rushing and skipping steps in the sport. It’s tempting to want to jump ahead and learn the more impressive or ‘cool’ tricks but building a strong foundation of basic skills is crucial for long term success and safety. Many athletes skip the fundamental four direction spinning basics, and it comes back to bite them later. They often have to break habits and relearn those skills later in their career. Likewise, I encourage those starting in the sport to train in a variety of environments. You don’t always need to be in the park hiking a rail for six hours. Having fun and genuinely loving the sport is just as important as structured training. Setting aside time to ski without pressure, to enjoy the mountain and reconnect with why you love skiing. This can make a huge difference in both progression and longevity.”

Do you think your background in gymnastics played a crucial part in your skiing abilities?

MO: “I definitely think my background in gymnastics played a huge role in my success on the slopes. The air awareness that gymnastic taught me translated extremely well to skiing. I already knew how to flip and spin so when I started skiing, I mainly needed to get comfortable being in the air with the added weight of ski equipment. Another often overlooked skill that I gained from gymnastics is the ability to fall safely. From a young age gymnastics emphasizes body and movement awareness. You learn how to spot in tricks, roll out of falls, and understand which part of your body to land on if things go wrong. In skiing, having these cat like instincts to roll out safely during crashes really pays off. Skiing is a high injury sport so heightened movement awareness helps reduce the risk of injuries.”

What is your favourite sport to watch at the Winter Games?

MO: “My favourite sport to watch at the Winter Olympics is probably snowboarding. I love this event because it closely relates to skiing. I understand the format of the event really well, and since the course is different at every Olympics, you are never watching the same thing twice. Being closely connected to that community also makes it more exciting. I know a lot of the riders and am invested in their journey. When you have watched these other athletes experience setbacks, rise again, and put in endless effort, you develop an emotional connection and are that much more invested in their Olympic journey.”

With freestyle skiing being an individual sport, who’s words of encouragement always get you in the right mindset?

MO: “The words of encouragement from my brother always put me in the right mindset. We grew up skiing together and he was the first one to introduce me to the sport. He has a deep understanding of trick mechanics and on a personal side, he knows when and how to push me. I always trust his advice and know that he would never encourage me to try something if he didn’t know I was capable of doing it.”

What skiing greats made you want to take the sport professional?

MO: “When I first got into the sport there were a couple female freestyle skiers that really stood out and inspired me. The first being Kaya Turski. She is a Canadian as well and her background in rollerblading was fascinating. She always exuded so much control and flow with her riding and was one of the leaders in progressing the sport, becoming one of the first woman to land a double cork on snow. She also put out insane urban parts, which at the time was more traditional for male riders and not seen done by females often. I also was incredibly impressed with Kelly Sildaru. She was such a young competitor and yet dominated the field with such ease and grace in her riding. These two skiers were definitely instrumental in pushing me to take the sport professional.”

What are your pre-ski superstitions?

MO: “I don’t have too many pre-ski superstitions, but I do always put my skis on the same way. For example, the ski with all my sponsor stickers is always on my right foot. I also go through the same visualization routine before every competition. More generally speaking though, a common superstition in the skiing community is to never say “last run”. This is basically asking to slam, haha. We tend to say “Two minus one” or “Two skip” instead when taking our final lap.”

Feature image courtesy of Megan Oldham.