Perrine Laffont, Olympic mogul ski champion, talks about her passion for winter

The young Pyrenean Perrine Laffont embodies the success of a passion that has become a vocation. I met her in Haute Tarentaise to share with her her passion for snow, mountains and winter.

At only 25 years old, the Frenchwoman left her mark on mogul skiing, a demanding discipline where mastery, daring and creativity combine to dominate the mogul stages. But Perrine remained a simple young girl, passionate about her sport of course, but also deeply anchored in the mountain world, close to her roots.

▶️ REPLAY Chronicles from Above: Perrine Laffont: snow, the soul of our mountains

Born in the Ariège Pyrenees, Perrine Laffont grew up in the heart of a region where the mountains are much more than a backdrop: they are a way of life. The daughter of a ski instructor, she put on her first pair at just three years old, on the slopes of the Monts d’Olmes, a few kilometers from home. Very early on, skiing became much more than just a leisure activity for her: it was second nature.

At eight years old, she discovered mogul skiing, a discipline that combines rapid descent, acrobatic technique and handling the unexpected. She immediately falls under the spell.

The feeling of freedom that snow offers is indescribable. But in competition, you have to calculate everything, prepare, manage…

Perrine Laffont, Olympic mogul ski champion

Supported by a passionate family, she began to train assiduously, under the watchful eye of those close to her and her father, her first mentor. These years of learning in a family setting will lay the foundations for his future career.

Quickly, Perrine’s potential becomes obvious. At age 15, she competed in her first mogul skiing World Cup, becoming the youngest competitor in the history of the event. This impressive precocity is not a coincidence, but the result of a mixture of rigorous training, a mind of steel and, above all, boundless energy.

The turning point in his career came in 2018, during the Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang. Perrine Laffont then won against the best skiers in the world and won the gold medal in mogul skiing.

Since her Olympic coronation, Perrine Laffont has continued to dazzle the world of freestyle skiing. With several crystal globes won in the World Cup and numerous world champion titles, she has maintained her status as an icon of her discipline. Her style combines fluidity and technicality, with a creativity that makes her a true piste artist.

But behind this successful career lies an impressive work ethic. Perrine leaves nothing to chance: each descent is the result of hours of physical, mental and technical preparation. She trains in summer and winter, increasing her sessions on trampolines to perfect her acrobatic figures. Her goal is clear: to push her limits, without ever losing sight of the pleasure that brought her here.

These victories were a great joy, the reward for hard work. But I was still young and what happened next wasn’t always easy to deal with.

Because success sometimes creates jealousy and above all reveals frustrations in others. And the confrontation with the gratuitous nastiness of couch haters sheltered by their anonymity on social networks, who do not miss it when it happens to fail, was sometimes painful. Entirely focused on training and perfecting her sport, Perrine had a bad time at that time.

Now older and more hardened, she was able to overcome these inevitable setbacks and after a break during which she recharged her batteries, Perrine decided to resume competition. But perhaps with a little more perspective, and more particular attention to his roots and his first passion, snow. So, it was on the snowy and wild slopes of the Haute Tarentaise that I was able to share a day of ski touring with her, far from the stopwatches, without bumps or springboards, without anyone around us…

Because beyond the trophies, Perrine Laffont remains above all an unconditional lover of the mountains. For her, snow is much more than a natural element: it is a space of freedom, creativity and connection with oneself. For her, snow, with its changing texture and purity, is both a challenge and a source of comfort.

When she is not competing, Perrine enjoys sharing her passion with others, especially young people. She remains very attached to her roots and regularly returns to Ariège, where she works to promote skiing and introduce new generations to the pleasure of moguls. Her journey is an example for many children who, like her in the past, dream of great descents and summits to conquer.

To this day, Perrine Laffont continues to shine on international circuits, but she also envisions a future beyond competition. If she aspires to further enrich her track record, she also wishes to transmit her knowledge and her passion through educational projects and local actions in the Pyrenees.

In a world of sport where pressure and expectations are omnipresent, Perrine remains faithful to what has always guided her: the pleasure of sliding, the love of snow and the desire to push her own limits. Throughout her career, she embodies a true lesson in perseverance and passion.

▶️ “Snow, the soul of our mountains” in “Chroniques d’en Haut”. A program presented by Laurent Guillaume, produced by Bruno Peyronnet, broadcast on Wednesday December 11 at 10:50 p.m. on France 3 and available in REPLAY south france.tv