Interview: Winter sports and sustainable agriculture are dream team, says Norway ski star Kilde

KLOSTERS, Switzerland, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Norwegian ski star and two-time Olympic medallist Aleksander Aamodt Kilde said that winter sports and sustainable agriculture should go hand in hand, as he shared his top tips for China's booming number of ski lovers.

"Farmers and athletes share common grounds. As a skier, I need to be able to ski on the snow on the mountains, the same way as farmers need to use the soil to produce food for the world," he said during a ski event organized by Chinese-owned agri-tech company Syngenta Group, for which he has been working as a brand ambassador since 2020.

Kilde is one of the world's best ski racers and won a silver medal in Alpine combined and a bronze in super-G during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in February.

Kilde also won the 2019-2020 overall World Cup title in Alpine skiing, and the downhill and the super-G World Cup titles in the 2021-2022 season.

"My future plans are trying to still be on top of my game and to win races, but also to enjoy it on the way. That's always a big goal for me."

Asked about his advice for the new generation of ski enthusiasts in China, he said: "Enjoy it and try to be adventurous. You want to experience something new, be open-minded."

"Skiing is such an incredible thing because you can share with friends and family, but you can also be totally alone, get some free time and enjoy Mother Nature," he added.

In January, China announced that it has surpassed its target of engaging 300 million people in winter sports.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, 346 million people had taken part in outdoor and indoor winter sports-related leisure activities since 2015 when Beijing, together with Zhangjiakou, won the bid to host the Games.

SPORTS AND AGRICULTURE TEAM UP

Off-piste, Kilde said that he has developed a passion for agriculture and a strong appetite for healthy, nutritious food grown in a sustainable way that is affordable and accessible for everyone since his childhood.

He also emphasized that he was inspired by the passion and dedication of farmers in China and the country's rich agricultural history, and said he wanted to contribute to a greener, healthier and safer planet.

"I wanted to figure out how the farmers work and what their challenges are," he said, adding that he is now cultivating vegetables and fruits in his own garden, with carrots and zucchini being his favorite produce.

"I now know what they're dealing with and seeing that gives me more motivation to understand more about the products and agriculture in general."

Erik Fyrwald, CEO of Syngenta Group that based in the Swiss city of Basel, agreed that agriculture and winter sports have a lot in common.

"Both winter sports and agriculture are completely dependent on nature, on weather, and both are threatened by climate change. Higher temperatures and droughts are threatening not only skiing, but also agriculture. Weather extremes threaten farmers and make it more challenging to grow a good crop," he told Xinhua at the same event in Klosters.

The athlete, Kilde, meanwhile said that winning Olympic gold was still his top target despite his newly developed passion for farming.

"In Beijing I got two medals, but gold is still missing. So that's going to be my biggest goal in the next four years."

Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo will be the host cities of the next Olympic Winter Games which are scheduled to take place from February 6 to 22, 2026.