Thoughts and Reflections on Season 2024/25

It has been a few months since the race season finished, and my preparations for the upcoming Olympic season are already underway. The 2024/25 season was a very significant step-up from my previous seasons as a FIS athlete, and an important preparation mentally and physically for the 2025/26 Olympic season. Throughout this extremely packed season, I saw lots of physical changes, improvements, and difficulties, as well as a different approach in mentality.

PREP SEASON

At the very start of my season, I was without a coach and a solid plan for the season. I had previously been staying in Italy for training and races, and I was originally intending to stay at my regular winter base of the past 7 years. After calling around for 2-3 months, I finally started my on-snow prep camp while trying out with several different coaches in late June 2024. It was a strange approach to my prep season that I hadn’t done before. I was accustomed to having a training group or coach by May, so starting this late on snow without actually having a set coach for the season was different to say the least. Of course, when you try out several different coaches in the span of a month, it’s pretty easy to get wrapped up in all of their different techniques and ways of teaching. I found myself thinking a lot more for myself with what I wanted to take and filter for my skiing. Smack in the middle of July, my parents and I made the decision and asked my now coach Kai Alaerts if he wanted to work together. His technical feedback and way of coaching was really aligned with what I was hoping for in a coach, so I felt super relieved and excited when he agreed.

Immediately after, my dad and I made a split decision to fly to South America for summer training and races. We went ahead first to El Colorado, Chile to start ski training. However, we only managed a mere 2 days on snow due to our skis getting stuck in transit. Races in Argentina started at the beginning of August, so my dad and I did the 13 hour drive down and met up with Kai there. Races started the day after Kai flew in, so it was pretty chaotic, and I also had just those two days on skis for preparation. Throughout the race series, I had to take it as training, adjust and make improvements, along with getting accustomed to having a new coach. Argentina was a packed schedule, it really zoomed by and with under 3 weeks there, I did 10 races including my first FIS win and 3 podiums. Not a bad way to conclude my time there and a rush of a prep season.

First FIS win at Perito Moreno, ARG

STARTING THE RACE SEASON

I spent most of September playing catch up on my strength and conditioning training, and of course tried to cram as much work into it as possible. The medial tibial shin splints that I had suffered in the past returned after going a full season without it, and I would have to deal with this for the rest of the season. I got back on snow 2 weeks later than planned in October, and started the main ski season with glacier training. With the base switch from Val di Fassa, Italy, to Innsbruck, Austria, it was definitely a change in scenery, but I think it was a good step out of old habits. October flew by pretty quickly, and I managed to get a decent feeling in the gates again before race season started in November. However, November and December felt really slow paced, and although my race results were fairly consistent, I wasn’t really seeing much progress and had to stay patient. I also struggled with my confidence and finding a good feeling in GS, compared to the few GS races I did back in Argentina. I returned home for the holidays and hit the slopes there for 2 days of epic powder. This was something I believe actually helped me reset for the rest of my race season - there’s something special for the soul to ski freely on home snow! After I flew back to Europe over New Year, we decided it was best to do a longer training block before continuing with FIS races. I personally think that January was one of the most important months of the season for me as I started to gain a lot more confidence in my GS skiing, and saw bits of what I trained in slalom transfer to my racing as well. With the confidence I gained in GS, I was able to let the skis run a lot better than before and adapt more easily to terrain changes and snow conditions. I think that this was really key leading up to the Far East Cups in Korea.

FAR EAST RACES

February was extremely hectic and exhausting for all of us. Far East Cups were the first races of this block. Although it wasn’t my first time racing in Korea, I still took too long to adapt to the grippy, aggressive snow surface. So, I was quite disappointed with my slalom results, as those were the first event. Of course, the GS days came right after, and honestly most people there were surprised that they managed to run the races. It was probably one of the windiest weather conditions I have raced in, but I was very determined to get something out of the Korea trip. During the first race, I remember being frustrated because I had some good turns, but I made some major mistakes that I wasn’t agile enough to fix. The second day, I’m pretty sure something in my mind snapped into place and I scored a massive career best in GS. I’d say that both runs were solid to combine a good time, but truly my second run was easily the best so far. I’d say it kind of felt like I was flying, needless to say one of the most rewarding types of adrenaline rush.

So right after Korea, the next destination was Harbin, China for the Asian Winter Games. I originally wasn’t sure about competing here, since they only planned for one slalom event and it’s of course expensive for us to travel there for only one race. On top of that, it was so closely scheduled to the Saalbach World Ski Championships back in Austria, which I had been keen on doing since previous seasons. However, I was encouraged to race at Harbin, and I really wanted to be there to represent Malaysia amongst all the Asian countries attending. Many people told me I was crazy and that the schedule was too close, but my team supported me, and I think that’s what really mattered. Leading up to the race, I remember being stressed because my shin pain was acting up again, and my mom put cold patches all over my legs to try soothing them. I was also putting more pressure on myself than necessary because I felt that I needed to perform my best with the given situation. I definitely had the race day jitters, which I never usually have. Furthermore, I was upset that morning because I was skiing badly in the warm-up courses. I honestly really owe it to my coach and my dad for helping me pull it together. The first race run was a good icebreaker, and I didn’t ski as bad as I thought. There were some messy turns, but I managed to keep my speed the whole way down and didn’t make any big mistakes. The second run was a lot better; I think I was feeling a bit more in my own skin. I cried a lot after my second run finished. I was in the warm-up hut with the other girls, and my friends comforted me. I just missed out on the podium, but it was still a considerably eye-opening result. The competition was tough, and I think I can still say that I’m proud of what I managed to do there.

Honestly, I’m really glad that I went to Harbin. Aside from gaining more experience from the race, I enjoyed the short time I spent there. I was honored to meet officials from the Olympic Council of Malaysia including the President of the OCM, who presented me with a special edition Asian Winter Games pin, and I was also super happy to finally meet other Malaysian winter sport athletes. It’s comforting to know that there are other Malaysians who share a passion for the niche winter world coming from a tropical country.

Malaysia Alpine at Yabuli Ski Resort for the 9th Asian Winter Games

FIRST WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS AND THE OUTCOME

4 days was all the time I had between my race day at Asian Winter Games in China and my first event of Saalbach World Ski Championships in Austria. Considering the jetlag from travel, trying to get a quick rest, and just one day of training before the race, I was probably a lot more drained than I thought. That being said I still wanted to be there; I felt like there was a lot that I could learn from it. The slope was easily one of the most technical that I’ve ever raced, and the longest. My first run on the GS, I barely managed to push. When I got down, I was out of breath and just trying to keep upright; definitely not what I had in mind. It was a wake-up call, and I skied with a lot more effort the second run. There was a day off between the events, which was also my birthday. It was much needed, and I spent some time with friends and family watching the men’s race. The slalom was also quite long and technical, but it was one of those races where many didn’t make it down, and I was one of them. Surprisingly, I actually felt really good until I blew out, and I was glad that I still managed to make some decent turns despite the fatigue. I’m hoping that kind of intense race with difficult slope conditions and terrain was a good mental prep for the Olympics. I would say that if I didn’t compete at Saalbach, I think the rest of my season might’ve been a little more smooth sailing.

Although we all took a few days off after Saalbach, I still didn’t recover enough before resuming FIS races and World Junior Championships in Tarvisio, Italy. My shins took a beating from all the races and travel, so slalom became more difficult to do again, and my form continued to decline for the rest of the season. I was hoping to keep up the momentum throughout my last World Junior Championships, but that was a long shot. I slid out during the first run of slalom at the top of the course, and that was that. I had to take some time to try and heal it, but the pain barely improved. We all decided it was best to switch gears to GS, and score some points closer to the personal best I made in Korea. My GS form stayed fairly consistent for the rest of the season, and the confidence I gained earlier also allowed me to stay positive and score a second best for my season. I was still set on skiing more slalom towards the end of the season, but the more I tried to push to race the worse it got, and the worse it felt mentally. At that point, it didn’t feel necessary to keep pushing until the end of the racing season. After a lot of talk, my coach, my parents, and I concluded that I should end the season a lot earlier than usual. I went home in the last week of March after a season of 55 races.

Dutch National Championships GS at Reiteralm, AUT

That was probably the first time I said it was okay to finish early. I was so used to pushing past my abilities and “braving through it”, and it felt oddly nice to give myself a break and not feel like I missed out on any opportunities. I’m hoping that having this kind of perspective and maturity will allow me to move forward and progress as an athlete, because understanding what my mind and body needs is something I’ve struggled with in the past. Although this season had a lot going on, I’m content with how it turned out because of all the situations I was able to learn from. I saw improvements in my adaptability, I put more confidence in my abilities which helped to overcome some mental barriers, and I gained more understanding of pushing past my limitations and knowing when the time is to give myself a break. I’m hoping to carry these aspects into this season, where I aim for my second Winter Olympic Games.