Kevin Rolland (K.R.), French freestyle skier and acrobat with halfpipe, graduated from the La Plagne club. Bronze medallist at the first Olympic half-pipe ski competition in Sochi in 2014, He was also awarded as the 2009 World Champion in the same discipline, three-time X Games Superpipe winner in Aspen (2010, 2011 and 2016) and two-time X Games Europe winner in Tignes (2010, 2011). He was selected to play as one of the two flag-bearers of the French Olympic Team at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, together with the double-world champion Tessa Worley, Alpine ski racer.
TOPICS = ECO-COMMITMENT >> SPORT & ECO-AWARENES >> FEELINGS OF WINTER OLYMPICS
MONACŒCOART®: Kevin Rolland, your athletic career and human experience have always been intertwined. The serious accident in 2019; the desire to recover and reach again the podium and beat the world record in full motivation; the birth of your child, several multimedia projects (like the web series «One minute please»); the return to track in March 2020; the first real training in October 2020; finalist at the Aspen Worlds in January 2021; then the X Games; the return to the World Cup and the Tokyo Winter Olympics where you were ranked sixth among the ten best athletes worldwide. You are definitely a good example of ‘resilience’, a concept that links the world of Sport to that of Nature, do you consider yourself involved in the ecological cause?
K.R.: I have definitely a visual sensitivity. Most people talk about ecology, climate change through a written text and that can be sometimes hardly testable. I made my first training on the glaciers of the Alps at an altitude of 3000 metres when I was 5/6 years old. Now I am 33 years old and I could clearly see the constant melting of the ice which has regressed for several hundred meters. This process is unfortunately irreversible. So, surely the environmental issue touches me.
MONACŒCOART®: Do you think your discipline can help raise awareness on key issues such as protecting the natural environment?
K.R.: On our small scale, what I always try to do is show a good message through social media and professional interviews like yours to boost the idea of being as much eco-responsible as possible although it is not always easy to apply in the mountain environment. The Alpine heritage is massively used throughout the year, and a times in a non-respectful manner. Keep talking about ecology is addressed to make it natural to have the proper respect for Nature while practicing sport, both professionally and as amateurs.
MONACŒCOART®: Coming back to your attendance to the Winter Olympic Games, what is your feeling? What are your plans for the future?
K.R.: In these last years, my dream has always been to be part of the best performers again. However, I never imagined getting to where I am: having attended the Olympics carrying the tricolour. It meant a lot to me! I felt therefore great emotions. I have currently many projects I am working on. For much of my career I have been focused on the side of sports technique. Today, I want to give more space to the media part in order to enhance the most artistic part of my sport discipline. I have already filmed a lot with the aim at creating movies following some personal ideas. but I didn’t give up the competition...I resumed training as if the Olympic Games were tomorrow. In the coming winter season there will be the World Championship and maybe I would be willing to participate. Besides that I also work for Eurosport reporting on several sport events, not necessarily related to ski. I did it also for the Rolland Garros. What really matters me is to bring out the human values that bind sportspeople. ***
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By Maurice Abbati