Kristen Spours feels ready to ‘make fantastic memories’ at Milano Cortina 2026 mere months after 'her whole world exploded'.
The 25-year-old figure skater only got back on the ice in early November after taking time out the sport due to a mental health-related absence, with spinal surgery contributing to an already stressful period.
She marked her comeback by becoming national ladies’ singles champion for the second time and now has her sights firmly set on showing the world what she can do.
“I struggled through the pressure of Olympic qualifying,” she said. “I found that year very difficult and somewhat lost the love (for the sport) in the quest of chasing something, which was not what it was ever really about for me.
“I was already in a bit of a dark place and when the injury came on top of that, it felt like my whole world exploded.
“It felt like I had pushed to qualify for the Games and that would fix everything for me but then I realised that that wasn't true.
“The decision I made to step back was the right thing to do at the time. I was constantly trapped in this cycle of people asking me if I was going to make a recovery and I didn't have an answer because the injury isn't simple.
“I needed it all to stop so that I could make the choice for myself and see where I ended up.
“I chose to come back because I just felt like I was ready. It felt like I was in a healthy place to approach the sport with love.
“I reached a point where I was wanting to go to the rink and wasn't sobbing in the car anymore. I wanted to be back in the team and it felt like I was ready to.
“I remember landing my first double and thinking 'something is possible'. After my first triple, I really fell back in love with it.”
Spours, who was born in Kingston, attended Howard of Effingham School and is now based in Swindon, secured Britain’s quota spot in her discipline through her performances at March's World Championships in Boston.
“Boston was very stressful but absolutely incredible,” she reflected.
“It's such a crazy thing. In skating in the short programme, you have three jumps and standing in the start position in Boston, I was just thinking: three jumps, it's happening or it's not happening.
“Once I'd finished, I was so shocked that I had actually done it. I don't think I ever believed in myself to qualify the spot.”
Now she has done just that, the skater – who took up the sport after being obsessed by Dancing On Ice as a youngster – is determined to make her friends and family proud.
A European Championships on home ice in Sheffield in January will act as the tune up before the main event and Spours cannot wait for 2026 to begin.
“I feel like I’m in a great place to go to Milan and enjoy this journey,” she said.
“I have had so much personal growth that now I’m just ready to enjoy it and make some fantastic memories.
“I will have had many more weeks of training behind me so I am really hopeful. I want to go out and do a performance I am proud of.
“I want to share that moment of saying ‘hey Mum, I’m an Olympian’.”
Sportsbeat 2025