A born fighter who grew up in the mountains and turned his hobby into his profession: he dedicates himself to the world of cross-country skiing and high mountain competition, sports that are not available to everyone . He has to his credit countless titles and trophies to which he does not give a higher importance than they have, because for him the important thing is to be able to dedicate himself to the mountains, which has given him so much joy and, sometimes, defeats.
We have followed his career and here you have some of his news: Kilian Jornet at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup.
He spoke with Yumping and told us what his career is like, why he is passionate about the mountains and how far he would like to go.
Yumping.- Since you were very little you have been surrounded by mountains and snow. Tell us, at what age did you start mountain sports?
Kilian Jornet.- The first time I put on skis was when I was 2 months old, in the end-of-year race in La Molina, but I started cross-country skiing when I was 2 years old.
Y.- Were the beginnings hard?
K.J.- Tough? No, it was a game, my parents taught me to go to the mountains playing. And playing is not hard, it's fun!
Y.- One of the advantages you had has to do with the fact that both your parents and the school instilled in you a love for the mountains. But, when did you decide that you wanted to dedicate yourself to this type of sport?
K.J.- The fact that I do these mountain sports is no coincidence, since, as a child, I lived with my parents and my sister in the Cap del Rec mountain refuge, located in the cross-country ski resort. of Lles de Cerdanya, in the Catalan Pyrenees. It was there that we started going to the mountains and skiing. Before taking the first steps on foot, we had already traveled the first kilometers on skis. For my sister and I, sport was a game, it was the only way we had to have fun up there, since when we came home from school, in the summer we would go and play. running through the mountains and the forests that surrounded the refuge and in winter we did the same on skis. Furthermore, our parents were and still are mountain enthusiasts, and when we had a few days of vacation, we always went to do some trek or climb a peak. So it was that at 5 years old we had already completed a few "3 miles", such as Aneto, Posets, the complete crossing of the Pyrenees and some 4,000 m peaks.
Y.- Where did you find greater support to dedicate yourself to it?
K.J.- In minority sports it is essential to have people behind you who support you, who believe in you. And often it is family. Mountain skiing required going to train before going to school and we would get up with Nuria (my mother) to go do an Alp Tosa before going to school, she often took us to go to the races, they were trips long... Without all this support, and especially seeing that at home the family enjoys what you do and supports you strongly, it is impossible to get ahead.
And.- When did you start in the world of competition?
K.J.- It was when I was 13, when I was going to high school, that was when, half by chance, we found out that there was a Mountain Ski Technology Center (CTEMC). I took the selection tests and it was then that I learned about competitive mountain skiing, and I began to train in a serious and planned way with the great help of their technicians, Maite Hernández, who taught me how to train and fight, and Jordi Canals who instilled in me a great love for this sport and a passion for competition.
Y.- We assume that there will be a lot of rivalry in championships. Is it difficult to find friendship in the middle of the season?
K.J.- On the contrary, there is a very good atmosphere, my best friends are rivals at the same time. During the race you try to win, but before and after we are united by a great friendship. We all like the same thing!
Y.- Like your professional colleague and whom we also had the honor of interviewing, Mireia Mir, you studied STAPS, the equivalent of INEF. Where would you like to be in a few years?
K.J.-Where I am, in the mountains. Continue linked in one way or another to what I love, mountain skiing and trail running. As? I don't know, as a coach, in marketing, in projects... but always in the mountains.
Y.- After the kneecap injury that forced you to retire from the competition in 2006, was it difficult for you to rejoin?
K.J.- After the injury I didn't know if I could return to the previous level, which scared me a lot. That's why I trained a lot to be able to return to competition, and at a high level. It was at the end of this summer that I started running again, with victories in the Gore-Tex series and the world record for the vertical kilometer.
Since then I have continued with my great sporting successes in 2007, which have allowed me to continue with my sporting projects supported from different areas.
Y.- You practice a sport of improvement in which every day you fight to go a little further. Have you already reached your limit or do you still think you can continue to surpass yourself?
K.J.- Limits are there to be overcome. I ran the Montblanc Ultra Trail, 168 kilometers; the following year, Corsica, 190; and then the Tahoe Rim Trail... But it's not just about distances; In a race other factors also come into play, such as gradient, speed, technique, etc. I like to try all the challenges, but I think that sometimes we quantify sporting achievements too much and abandon the sensations, which is what is really important about these experiences. The important thing is to get close to the limit, but never reach it.
Y.- What is a day like being Kilian Jornet?
K.J.-It depends on the career you are preparing for. Normally a typical week is based on 3-4h in the morning, 1-1'30h in the afternoon, with skis in winter and running in summer. And this 7 days a week.
And.- What hobbies do you have apart from running and skiing?
K.J.- Being at home in peace or on a lake lost in the mountains. Read a good book, listen to music, to relax: Bach, Els amics de les Arts or Ludovico Einaudi. Also drawing, contemplating the landscape, listening, painting...
And.- What is the trophy you keep most fondly?
K.J.-I don't like keeping trophies. I keep some that are pretty, like a pair of scissors from the Giir di Mont or the leopard from the WS, but a trophy is something impersonal, something artificial, it carries no emotion. As Antoine de St. Exupery said: "L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux"
And.- Your resume is very extensive, how far would you like to go?
K.J.- Does a man live on his resume? When I die I won't care if I won this or that race. That competition in 2006, was it difficult for you to rejoin?
K.J.- After the injury I didn't know if I could return to the previous level, which scared me a lot. That's why I trained a lot to be able to return to competition, and at a high level. It was at the end of this summer that I started running again, with victories in the Gore-Tex series and the world record for the vertical kilometer.
Since then I have continued with my great sporting successes in 2007, which have allowed me to continue with my sporting projects supported from different areas.
Y.- You practice a sport of improvement in which every day you fight to go a little further. Have you already reached your limit or do you still think you can continue to surpass yourself?
K.J.- Limits are there to be overcome. I ran the Montblanc Ultra Trail, 168 kilometers; the following year, Corsica, 190; and then the Tahoe Rim Trail... But it's not just about distances; In a race other factors also come into play, such as gradient, speed, technique, etc. I like to try all the challenges, but I think that sometimes we quantify sporting achievements too much and abandon the sensations, which is what is really important about these experiences. The important thing is to get close to the limit, but never reach it.
Y.- What is a day like being Kilian Jornet?
K.J.-It depends on the career you are preparing for. Normally a typical week is based on 3-4h in the morning, 1-1'30h in the afternoon, with skis in winter and running in summer. And this 7 days a week.
And.- What hobbies do you have apart from running and skiing?
K.J.- Being at home in peace or on a lake lost in the mountains. Read a good book, listen to music, to relax: Bach, Els amics de les Arts or Ludovico Einaudi. Also drawing, contemplating the landscape, listening, painting...
And.- What is the trophy you keep most fondly?
K.J.-I don't like keeping trophies. I keep some that are pretty, like a pair of scissors from the Giir di Mont or the leopard from the WS, but a trophy is something impersonal, something artificial, it carries no emotion. As Antoine de St. Exupery said: "L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux"
And.- Your resume is very extensive, how far would you like to go?
K.J.- Does a man live on his resume? When I die I won't care if I won this or that race. That
