Team USA’s freestyle skier Birk Irving is set to compete in his second Winter Olympics this year, having already taken part in Beijing four years ago.
But being in Italy feels very different than his last Olympic experience, and that’s because he’s been joined by his younger sister, Svea Irving.
The siblings are set to compete for the US in the men’s and women’s freeski halfpipe later this week.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Birk told CNN Sports. “She was one spot out of making it to the Beijing Olympics and she’s just been working so, so hard the last few years to get to this point.
“Because I’m three years older than her, it’s been cool to watch her grow up and develop herself and her own style as a skier. It’s pretty awesome and really cool to have her here with me.”
Both Birk and Svea attended the opening ceremony in Milan together before leaving the country to get some last-minute training done.
They’ve since arrived in Livigno for their final preparations and have been trying to spend some time together.
“She’s been busy making TikToks, so she’s been pretty busy, but yeah, we’ve been hanging out,” Birk said, laughing, adding that their parents were due to arrive in Italy shortly.
“I don’t know if she likes it as much, but I like to give her my two cents every once in a while.
“I’ve been competing forever, and competing just takes a lot of time, and it’s so hard to figure out, especially in an Olympic year when it’s so strategic, especially qualifying for the team.
“That’s been cool for me to try and share with her some of my insights. And it’s cool to watch her and learn things from her contests as well.”
