The first time I realized I had a twin was when we started kindergarten. To avoid us being stuck together all the time, the teachers placed us in two different classes, a common practice when twins arrive at a school. Throughout our primary school years, we grew up in parallel, without ever stepping on each other’s toes. I would see her when I came home from school and we would spend our evenings playing like two friends.
Anna and I were born on August 20, 2000 in Sallanches (Haute-Savoie), near Mont Blanc. We are identical twins and we look a lot alike: the same laughing blue eyes, the same brown hair, the same infectious smile. However, our personalities are very different. I am rather gentle, almost malleable. Anna is much more realistic, very down to earth and honest.
I wouldn’t say that we are very close, but we get along very well, like very close sisters. In Chamonix, where we live, the children are immersed very quickly in a sporty atmosphere and can try out a whole bunch of disciplines. At 8 years old, we discovered dance and snowboarding at the same time.
In collision
This is where things get complicated. Our lives collide. We become one and the same person. We have the same friends, the same classes, the same training. In middle school, we both enter sports studies to continue snowboarding at a high level. Everywhere, we are referred to as “Kim and Anna.”. We are inseparable. In sports, it’s even worse. Throughout middle school, I’m better than Anna at snowboarding. I win more races and titles. My sister is demoralized, but she keeps trying to beat me.
During a parallel giant slalom competition in ninth grade, we found ourselves up against each other for the umpteenth time. The principle was simple: two competitors competed on snowboards in two parallel courses; the first to reach the bottom of the slope won. Since I was the one with the best time, I was allowed to choose the course I wanted. There was always one slope that was faster than the other. That was the one I chose. At the top of the course, in the starting blocks, as we were about to set off, Anna begged me to let her take the easier route. “You know you’re going to win anyway,” she throws at me with tears in her eyes. But for me, the only thing that matters is the competition. Sister or not, she is an opponent.
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