Kirsty Muir is on top of the world right now as she contends for gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The 21-year-old is aiming for a top spot on the podium in the freeski big air final on Monday evening, which would make her the first female athlete to medal for team Great Britain at Milano Cortina after skeleton racer Matt Weston’s gold takeaway.
With a medal in reach, the athlete’s career is well and truly on a spectacular rise – but two years ago, she faced a major setback that derailed her career for nearly a year. Read on for how the skier went from a life-changing double surgery and being out of the sport for months to being on the path to Olympic success.
Serious knee injury derailed her season
Kirsty has quite the decorated career: she was just 15 when she took home silver at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympics for the big air event. Her 2023 season was looking promising after she came in third at the Freeski Big Air World Cup. But all that changed when she sustained an ACL injury and meniscus damage in the same competition after crashing during her second run.
The then 20-year-old later admitted her knee had been “a little sore” during the first run. “But now I think it was the back of the hamstring I’ve torn a little bit there. The second run I ended up crashing and that’s when we think I did my ACL and a little bit of my meniscus,” she told BBC Scotland.
“Once I got up it felt pretty fine, I was doing one-legged jumps on it and everything. I managed to do my third run and ended up on the podium in third. So I didn’t think the knee was too bad – I was actually happy because I thought it could have been worse.”
However, her scan results revealed the injury was in fact worse than she initially thought, leaving the skier “completely shocked”.
“I honestly didn’t know what to say or think,” she continued. “I was in such a good place, both physically and mentally. It was such a good start to the season, the best I’ve had, so it’s really quite sad to have this crush that.”
Kirsty ended up having to get surgery in January 2023, derailing her ski season. “I guess instead of new year new me I can finally say new year new knee,” she shared a health update on Instagram on 20 January. “Super happy to say my surgery went well and I can start on the recovery road!!
A second surgery put her out for months
© Instagram/ @kirski12Just weeks after her knee operation, Kirsty was back in hospital for a second injury she’d been struggling with for nearly two years. The skier revealed in a candid Instagram post on 2 March, 2024 that she had undergone shoulder surgery.
“Since April 2022 I have had some shoulder issues partially dislocating it. It got worse in November and I was wearing a brace whilst skiing since so we’ve taking the opportunity to get it fixed whilst I’m out with my knee,” she explained, adding she was going to be doing “double rehab”.
Kirsty was out of the sport for nearly a year as she recovered for her double surgery. After around ten months of rehab, she was back to the slopes in late 2024. She’s gone from strength to strength since, taking home the gold at the 2026 World Cup in Aspen January – the third World Cup win in her career – and making her way to the finals event at the Olympics in February.
2026 Winter Olympics journey
© Getty ImagesKirsty’s time spent recovering and her hard work since her surgeries have paid off in 2026. The athlete’s Olympic journey has taken an exciting turn after she qualified for the women’s big air final, which will take place on Monday, 16 February.
“Dropping into my second Olympics Big Air finals tomorrow night, super excited to get out there and send it! It’s the best having my family’s support out here,” the skier gushed ahead of the final on Instagram.
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