On the last day of the Winter Olympics, Noa Rabou (17) is already counting down the days to the next edition. In four years time she wants to be on the skis there herself, in Milan to make her Olympic debut as an alpine skier. “I want to be the fastest alpine skier from a country without mountains.”
During the last Winter Games, Noa was on the edge of her seat, especially when the alpine skiers came into action: ”I think it’s so cool to watch. A few times I got up extra early to see it.”
There were no Dutch who had a chance of winning a medal in skiing. But if it’s up to Noa, it will be different at the next Winter Games. “I want to be the fastest alpine skier from a country without mountains.”
Noa left for Austria at the age of fourteen to make her dreams come true. There she went to a ski gymnasium, a school that admits only one foreigner every year. Life in the snow suits the Vughtse just fine. “I am good friends with my Austrian peers.”
Rabou made his debut last year at the junior world championships in Bulgaria. She finished fourth in the slalom. According to Rabou, that World Cup was just the beginning last year. “The result was not even bad, but I made some mistakes that I normally never make. I know that I can do much better.”
So in four years she wants to be there at the Games in Milan. Now the World Junior Championships in Canada are just around the corner.
The Junior World Championships start on March 5. Noa Rabou is the only Dutch participant.