A year after making the decision to take a break from skiing and competition, Perrine Laffont will be back this season with the French team in the mogul skiing World Cup. The Pyrenees based in Haute-Savoie seems to have found the mental and physical freshness to once again perform at the highest level, with the World Championships in her sights, and already the Winter Games in 2026.
His smile and his relaxation could easily be read last Friday at the FFS headquarters in Annecy, during a “back to school” day dedicated to the media and filming for the partners.
After a year’s break, Perrine Laffont is back, ready for this winter. In the fall of 2023, the 2018 Olympic champion and five-time world champion announced, against all expectations, that she wanted to take a break from competition and skiing. After more than ten years at the highest level, she confided that she was “on her knees”, citing great accumulated mental and physical fatigue. Time to “digest”, as some of those close to him explained.
Since then, Perrine Laffont has taken the time. Without ever really stopping physical training, the hard worker only skied a few times last winter, like her appearance in December on the Alpe d’Huez World Cup stage to encourage the Tricolores. Time to regenerate, the resumption of training took place gradually for the 25-year-old Pyrenees. Until recently deciding that she could officially resume competition.
The 2026 Olympics, “obvious”
Always in a very controlled and restricted communication, she granted a single interview to l’AFP last week to formalize his return: “The decision was quite late. In May, when we normally resume training, I still had small bouts of fatigue. But I needed to exercise. It happened little by little. Getting back into sport gave me back a little vitality. On skis, things went really well during training in Tignes this summer. Ushuaia (until the end of September) was a decisive course: it’s where we re-attack the complete runs, where we see the physical and mental form too, to be carried out over three weeks. It went very well. »
Perrine Laffont therefore returned to these months of break which were beneficial to her. “The batteries were at zero at the end of the (previous) winter. What I managed to create was lack. The lack of playing sports, going to training, going to training, going skiing, doing moguls; the lack of competition, of adrenaline. I would not have resumed competition if I had not (felt) the lack,” the champion confided to l’AFP while confirming that the 2026 Olympics were “obvious”, those of 2030 in the French Alps “in the back of his mind”.
“She has progressed”
Once again ready to perform on the moguls, the Monts d’Olmes skier will be at the start of the first stage of the season in Ruka in Finland (from November 29 to 1is December). The Engadine Worlds in Switzerland in March are the big objective of the season which, however, continues to take a break from the media due to the numerous demands that it cannot satisfy.
“The year off did him a lot of good,” explains Fabien Bertrand, director of freestyle skiing. Always accompanied by her personal coach, the former Megève worker, Anthony Benna, Perrine Laffont, continues to evolve with a very restricted circle, adapted to her personal needs, juggling between collective sessions with the French team and training more specific. “A hybrid system”, as Fabien Bertrand summarizes it.
A way of proceeding which is found more and more among the French stars of winter sports. “She has progressed compared to the level she had before the break,” assures Fabien Bertrand. In his technique but especially on the jumps. Perrine, her strong point was more technique and speed. So she focused a little more on the jumps, which paid off in my opinion. What can we expect this season? Obviously she will play with the best. »
A boon for the French team which tried to shine without its headliner last year. After a winter in full progress, Camille Cabrol, who hopes to get closer to the top 8 this season, explains about her teammate and friend Perrine Laffont: “For her health, it was what was needed. I think it did him a lot of good. We saw the example of American gymnast Simon Biles who did the same and it paid off well for her. So I don’t think I’m going too far in saying that things will go well this season. »
Positive signals confirmed by his physical trainer Sofiane Batikhy: “All the lights are green. She can’t wait, I think we’re going to see a great Perrine from the start of the year. »
