The Canadian ski cross team is a force to be reckoned with on the world stage, and has a history of delivering big Olympic performances.
But not only is the ski cross team deep, it also has the relatively unusual characteristic of featuring a set of Olympian siblings in Hannah and Jared Schmidt, both of whom notched top-10 results at Beijing 2022. The siblings grew up skiing on the alpine slopes at Mont Tremblant before taking up ski cross racing.
Last season was a huge one for both Schmidts. Hannah earned five podiums on the FIS World Cup circuit—including three wins—and finished fourth overall in the World Cup standings, despite an ankle injury taking her out of competition from February onwards. Jared took three podiums (all victories!) last season, finishing eighth overall in the men’s ski cross World Cup standings. It was about this time last December that the siblings even had a top step podium sweep when both of them won their respective races at the FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Arosa, Switzerland.
Olympic.ca caught up with the Schmidts while they were at a pre-season training camp to chat about their reflections on last season, goals for this one, and what it’s like to be on Team Canada with your older sister/younger brother. [Spoiler alert: There’s some gentle sibling-ribbing and an explanation of the philosophy of lucky socks.]
Hannah: I think both of us had pretty outstanding seasons. I can say that, even with an injury involved. Injuries happen in our sport; I can’t let that overshadow the good and the podiums that I had, the way I was skiing, and everything like that.
I think both of us had that confidence going into the season that we could be there and be racing against the best, and be fighting for first place, and for a podium spot at every race. So I think I’m just carrying that confidence throughout.
Jared: Looking back at last season, there were some amazing results, some PBs, made history a couple of times. We were in the groove and so focused on the task. And I think we had a lot of fun at the same time because we were surrounded by such a great team. We owe a lot of kudos to our teammates, coaches, and ski technicians. Without our teammates, we wouldn’t push as hard as we push every single day, without our coaches we wouldn’t have those technical tips, and our ski technicians, they’re keeping us sharp and fast all season long. So it’s a huge team effort. At the end of the day, the press kind of only sees our result, but it reflects our great team.
Jared: Now you’ve got me thinking about last season! [laughs] We had a whole summer to train in the gym, which is the direction we’ve been going the past two summers. I personally really enjoy it because it gives me time at home, gives me time to relax, but at the same time gives me time to have a good block in the gym and really see progress there in my fitness and all those aspects of the sport.
We were on snow in Chile in September, and then camps in Europe, so just lots of good training and pushing each other. I’m really looking forward to this year. I think everyone’s been working really hard.
Hannah: I think for me, coming back from an injury, in Chile I was returning to snow, doing slower drills, all that kind of thing. I’m definitely feeling a lot more confident on skis at this camp here in Sweden.
I’m looking forward to racing again. Coming from an injury, you have that in the back of your mind: “I want to get back to racing.” So, I’m excited to get back into the swing of things and in that competitive mindset in a race environment.
Hannah: For me, I like being connected to that ski community. I call our teammates our family, so being able to stay connected to our ski cross family and just have that communication, like sending texts or seeing some video. I was watching some of their training videos last year. I was still in the group chat.
I also think it can be good to be distant from the sport and focusing on recovery, but…what’s the best way to put this…it’s your life, right? You’re not defined by your sport, but it is your job, and you want to succeed, but you also want to distance yourself [to protect your mental health]. There’s a fine balance.
Hannah: Everyone on our team is strong enough to be on the podium at any given race, and having that, I think we push each other to be in that position. We wouldn’t be where we are without them, and vice versa. And when I succeed, or another teammate succeeds, we’re there for them, we’re excited for them. Obviously, you’re going to have a little bit of defeat in you, but you’re still excited—we’re family. Everyone’s happy for each other, and we’re sad for each other as well at times.
Jared: The skill level on this team is bar none. We’ve had, in the past, Olympic medals, World Cup podiums, World Cup overall [results], [Crystal] Globes, just so many amazing athletes on this team. And a couple athletes are coming back this season, like Kris Mahler, my teammate, [who] unfortunately got injured last year, and he’s worked really, really hard to come back. And, you know, we have Reece Howden, second in the world last year.
Looking back to when I made the team, I was looking up at Brady Leman, Chris Del Bosco, and I’m going, “Wow, these guys are super cool.” And then now, I guess I’m kind of one of those guys!
Someone asked me this question this summer: What would 13-year-old Jared think of Jared now? And I’m like, “Well, I think he’d be stoked!” So yeah, it’s definitely a cool time to be a part of this team with a lot of interesting individuals and very competitive, skilled athletes.
Hannah: When we’re on the road, it’s actually a break from Jared a little bit, because we live together in Calgary too! [laughs]. I think for the two of us, as siblings go, we get along quite well. We obviously don’t get along all the time, but we’re very close in that sense. But on the road, it’s kind of nice, the guys are living together and the girls live together, typically. I think having that little separation is a bit of a break, but it’s always nice to know in the back of my head that I do have true family on the road with me. If I need something or if he needs something, we’re there for each other.
Jared: Yeah, it is a nice little break [laughs] I mean, not that I don’t like living with my sibling! It’s really fun to be able to share these memories and share these experiences with a family member. Not too many people can say that they’ve done that.
Jared: I think I’ve grown a lot from being part of this team. I’ve learned so much about myself and I can hopefully translate everything I’ve learned in this role as an athlete into the future. I’m still in university, I’m getting close to finishing my degree at Mount Royal, but now even in university, I can translate it into: “okay, how am I going to sit down and write an exam?” and draw from those skills.
And then I’ve seen Hannah grow big time.
Hannah: Like taller? [Laughs]
Jared: Being on this team you see injuries happen and you see tough times. You see people at their best and you also see them probably at their lowest. When you get injured, depending on the injury, you’re usually starting from ground zero, maybe 15 out of 100, and then building back up, you’re watching that character build and the strength build back up. Observing, definitely in Hannah, but even in other teammates, these progressions being made, strength-wise and emotion-wise, it’s cool to be able to witness that as a sibling, because not all siblings even live in the same city or the same country, right?
Hannah: I think he nailed it, because I would say for me, I think my mental strength has grown a lot with injuries, with results, with progress made, all of that kind of thing. I think my mental fortitude has grown a lot from being able to understand or put into perspective what I’m going through.
And I think seeing Jared, I still remember him as a little kid, skiing around at Tremblant, hitting every single jump and air time. So I just see him growing into that—having that fun. I think I see that every time he gets in a ski cross start, I see him have the strategic mentality of going down, but still enjoying every second of it.
Hannah: It’s not easy. Growing up, I was always active. I got diagnosed at the age of 12. It shocked, I think, my mom more than anyone. I kind of was like, “Ah, Mom, I got this, don’t even worry about it,” and she was in tears in the hospital. But I think from that day, I told myself it’s not going to stop who I am and who I want to be. So I’ve kind of always had that mentality that it’s not going to stop me. It might be harder, but I’m going to push through that and prove to myself I can do it. I don’t need to prove it to anyone else.
And I think that is probably a big key for athletes with type 1 diabetes, or kids who want to be continuing in sport with diabetes—you don’t have to prove it to anyone else, but you can prove it to yourself that you can do anything. You can break barriers, you can go run a marathon, you can do all those things. It’s just going to take a bit more work, but I think you just need to set your mind to it.
An athlete that you look up to?
Hannah: I’d say my teammate, Britt Phelan.
Jared: When I was growing up, I looked up to Erik Guay, I think just because he’s from Tremblant and had those ties at the ski club and we’d see him every now and then. It was like, “Well, this guy’s super cool.”
Favorite place to train?
Hannah: Mont Tremblant.
Jared: Yeah, Tremblant.
Hannah: Training at home is always pretty special. So I think anytime we can get some training back there, it’s pretty awesome.
Do you have pre-race or pre-competition rituals or routines?
Hannah: Actually, I did notice one last year. I think we both do something similar before races—a pole tap, and then I pull down on my helmet. And I feel like you [Jared] do something similar, I noticed it when I was injured because I was watching on TV and I was like “Wait, that’s what I do!”
But I would say that’s probably the only thing. I’m not superstitious by any means. So I don’t really need to do anything, exactly in order. But the pump up playlist is a pre-race go-to.
Jared: I have a routine, like Hannah was saying, right pole, left pole, helmet, and then just breathe. But I have a few things that I do. I usually go left boot before right boot.
I’ve got some socks that are really fast that I’ve raced every World Cup in. And they’re really fast because I usually wash them once a year, and then they typically build their speed.
This is gonna sound really weird, the way it works in my head is that they get faster. I have a new set of socks I’m actually working on to try and speed them up.
Hannah: Didn’t they get thrown in the wash?
Jared: Yeah, the block before Christmas last year. It was my fault that they got thrown in the laundry and they lost a bit of speed. But they picked it up by the end of the season.
Best advice for young athletes?
Hannah: Keep having fun. Go out and enjoy it. Ski with friends, ski with your parents, go hit some jumps, moguls, whatever you want, but just go and have fun. Don’t go skiing because you’re forced to go skiing. If you don’t love it, don’t do it. I think we kind of grew up with that mentality, our parents never forced us into anything, they said choose your own adventure and do what makes you happy.
Jared: I think young athletes in general should have fun, and I think they should try a bunch of different sports. I think they should go and play soccer, football, baseball, I don’t know, whatever you want, pickleball, but just go try it out. Have fun. Don’t take it too seriously. And then if you find something that you love, pursue it. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, you’re still going to be a great person.
