Moguls skier Maïa Schwinghammer is growing towards Milano Cortina 2026
“I learned so much by not competing [at Beijing 2022] and just realized what it really takes as an athlete, and the dedication that I needed to have. And I think we’ve seen that in my journey. I’ve made the changes that I needed to make.”
One of the strongest skillsets in an athlete’s mental toolkit is a growth mindset—the ability to frame mistakes as opportunities for growth, to embrace challenge, and believe in your ability to improve—and it’s a skill that 24-year-old moguls skier Maïa Schwinghammer has in spades.
Maybe it has to do with being a skier from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. When you have dreams of being an elite freestyle skier, but come from an area notorious for being flat, maybe you develop the ability to think big early on.
The 2024-25 season was a breakthrough one for Schwinghammer. She started out with a fourth place World Cup result in Ruka, Finland, followed by a third place in Idre Fjäll, Sweden, then her first career World Cup victory in January, made all the sweeter for happening in front of a Canadian crowd at Val St.Come, Quebec. She took to the podium in the third spot again the following week in Deer Valley, Utah.
“It’s funny to reflect on [the season] and think about how happy I was at that first fourth place in Ruka, because by the end of the season, fourth place in Livigno [at the Olympic test event] was not so fun anymore!” said Schwinghammer with a chuckle.
The season wasn’t without its challenges, though. Schwinghammer had a big crash in Utah in February, followed by a bad bout of flu while in Kazakhstan just ahead of the World Cup in Livigno.
But she charged back to earn her biggest result of the season—a shiny bronze medal from the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in Engadin, Switzerland, a result that has prequalified her for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
“After Val St.Come [Olympic qualification] became that much closer. I needed one more podium, at either Livigno or world championships to make that step,” Schwinghammer explained. “That’s why fourth at Livigno stung so much.”
“When I realized that I’d finished third, I didn’t even realize I got a medal at the world championships. I was just like, Oh my gosh, I’m going to the Olympics!”
Schwinghammer has fought hard for that moment, and grown a lot through the process.
In 2020, in the midst of her first full season on the World Cup circuit, Schwinghammer lost one of her close friends and teammates, Brayden Kuroda. Schwinghammer, Kuroda, and fellow teammate Sam Cordell grew up with each other through skiing—the ultimate dream was to go to the Olympic Games together.
In the wake of that heavy loss, the pandemic hit, and there was added uncertainty about the Beijing 2022 Games. Schwinghammer had to remain isolated from her family while attempting to qualify. And then, she didn’t make it.
It’s a difficult couple of years for Schwinghammer to talk about, but also a period of time that she feels is incredibly important to who she has become as a person, an athlete, and an artist. Schwinghammer is also passionate about painting as another outlet for her emotions and creativity.
“Going through all that, not going to the [Beijing 2022] Games, learning all of these things about myself and as an athlete, I can say, without a doubt, if I had gone to the Games in 2022, I don’t think I would be sitting here right now,” said Schwinghammer.
There’s also something poetic about the fact Schwinghammer will make her Olympic debut at the Games during which legendary Canadian moguls skier, Jennifer Heil, will serve as the Chef de Mission for Team Canada.
“She was my ‘Aha!’ moment watching in 2010,” said Schwinghammer. “I was eight years old, and it was my ‘I need to be an Olympian!’ moment.”
Milano Cortina 2026 is also set to be a particularly notable Games for moguls, as dual moguls will make its Olympic debut.
“It’s the first time ever we get a chance at two medals at the Games,” said Schwinghammer. “It’s going to be history-making for us.”
Leading into Milano Cortina, Schwinghammer is keen to keep learning, and keep growing.
“I still haven’t quite found that perfect performance. Even with my win, it was a day out of a dream, but still my final run was not the perfect performance I know I’m capable of,” said Schwinghammer.
“I’m sort of happy I didn’t have that perfect performance this year, because I still have things to work on, and things I want to do leading into the Games.”
How’s that for a growth mindset?
