Cross-country skiing : “It was great, I really enjoyed myself”, says Anna Pryce
At just 24 years of age, Anna Pryce made history in British cross-country skiing on the Olympic track in Tesero (Italy). By finishing 24th in the individual skate, the cross-country skier fromInverurie (Scotland) achieved the best result ever obtained by a British woman in an Olympic cross-country skiing event.
A remarkable performance for the cross-country skier, who has just six World Cup starts to her name and whose best result was 35th place in the sprint skate in Davos (Switzerland) last December.
“It was good, I really enjoyed myself. I think I pushed my body a bit too hard on the first lap. I got a bit too excited and I was tired on the last two,” she confided after the race in a Team GB press release. It was a great race to gain experience and I really enjoyed myself. My coaches seemed happy, so that’s always a good sign.
Behind the freshness of her words, however, lies a more intimate story: this historic 24th place has been lived with a painful absence.Anna Pryce ‘s mother died in 2025. She was therefore unable to see her daughter secure her ticket to the Olympic Games or take the start of the greatest race of her life. Yet her presence never left the young cross-country skier’s mind.
“I inevitably thought about her today, during and before the race, and that moved me a little,” she told the British media outlet The Gazette, her voice full of emotion. “ I imagined what she would say and do. She’d be so excited and thrilled, shouting ‘Go Annie! […] It’s hard to think about and talk about, but I’m so lucky to know that she would be so happy.”
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