The nomination for the 2021 Winter Piotr Nurowski “Best European Young Athlete” Prize follows a fantastic season for 14-year-old Estonian freestyle skier Henry Sildaru.
Henry won his first international title on 19 March 2021 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia during the FIS Junior World Championships, where he owned the halfpipe event to become the youngest Freeski junior world champion ever.
At the same event he also earned a bronze medal in slopestyle and sixth place in Big Air.
His main goal now is to represent Estonia at the Winter Olympic Games Beijing 2022.
“It’s every athlete’s dream to represent his/her own country at the Olympics, national pride is a powerful motivator,” Henry says. “It has been a great year for me and I am more hungry and motivated than ever.
“Big goals and hard work can lead you to amazing results!”
Sildaru’s family must have freestyle skiing in its DNA, as Henry is the brother of Freeski legend Kelly. Now a multiple Estonian champion himself, Henry is chasing his sister, a world champion at only 16 years old, who won the 2017 Winter Piotr Nurowski Prize.
This year Henry also earned his first FIS European Cup medals, finishing first in the halfpipe competition in Leysin, Switzerland and second at the event in Crans Montana, Switzerland.
His favourite quote is from Jesse Owens:
“In the end, it’s the extra effort that separates a winner from a second place. But winning takes a lot more than that.
“It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline and self-sacrifice. Finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow competitors. Put all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?”
Find out more about Henry by watching this video!
