Snowboarder Hill 'proud' to make Winter Olympics debut

'I'm pretty proud of myself' - Hill on comeback from crash to making Team GB

Snowboarder Maisie Hill says she feels "pretty proud" of herself to be at her first Winter Olympics three years after a crash almost cost her life.

Hill broke multiple bones, including her spine and pelvis, and was left with a grade three laceration in her liver that caused heavy blood loss after the crash into a wall of ice during a training session in Switzerland in January 2023.

The 24-year-old returned to the slopes the following winter after a long recovery and said she has worked "so hard" to get to this point.

"I'm pretty proud of myself, I'm just trying to enjoy it so much because I've worked so hard to get here," Hill told BBC Sport.

"It's not been easy, I just feel so blessed to be here."

Maisie Hill flying through the air on a snowboard with one arm held up in the air during a competition in 2025Getty Images

Maisie Hill suffered multiple broken bones and a serious liver laceration in a crash in 2023

Hill competes in big air and slope style snowboarding and has multiple top 10 finishes in World Cup competitions to her name - including a fifth place since returning from her crash.

The Cheltenham-born athlete is one of 20 selected in Team GB's snowsport squad for the Milan-Cortina Games, with her first qualification run on Sunday.

Hill added that she has been working with a sport psychologist to help her since she returned from her injuries and it has given her a new perspective on her life after competing.

"When I got back on my board I was really good to begin with, snowboarding was really easy and then I started to face some kind of battles mentally," Hill said.

"I got really into sport psychology and I'm working with a sport psychologist and I'm really into it.

"That's what I want to do after snowboarding as well. I'd love to work with Team GB and to work with other athletes, I find it really interesting."

Having come through a lot just to get to Milan-Cortina, Hill is determined to enjoy being in the moment.

And if she can make it through qualifying into the finals where medals are up for grabs that would be even more of a bonus.

"If I could land my runs," she said of her goals at the Games, "and it would be the cherry on top if I make finals and still do my best."