Tess
Ledeux
France
·
Freeskiing
Date of birth | 23 November 2001 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Bourg-Saint-Maurice |
Age | 24 |
Nationality | France |
Career start | 2015 |
Disciplines | Freeskiing Slopestyle |
With halfpipe legend Kevin Rolland as a cousin, it was always odds-on that Tess Ledeux would take to the slopes with ease, but few could have predicted how far she'd come and how fast. Starting off at her home resort of La Plagne, France, she was on skis by two and a member of the local freestyle club by nine.
It's thanks to this early start and those solid foundations – and of course plenty of natural talent and hard work – that she was able to have a headline-grabbing breakthrough season so far ahead of the curve. As a 15-year-old in 2016-17, Tess's huge rotations and technical rail work earned her X Games silver in both Aspen and Hafjell and saw her become the youngest-ever freestyle ski world champion when she won slopestyle gold in Sierra Nevada. On top of this, she finished the season ranked second in slopestyle by the AFP.
The years following that have seen Tess fulfil that early promise time and time again. Her medals and podiums across both Big Air and Slopestyle are too numerous to list here, but include five golds at the X Games, a host of FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup triumphs, two further golds at world championships, plus a silver from Beijing in 2022.
Now Tess will hope she can continue to build on her status as a world-class skier by adding to her already record-breaking trophy haul.
Tess Ledeux has her sights set firmly on more freeski medals
© Lorenz Richard/Red Bull Content Pool
Tess Ledeux on her way to X Games silver
© Kyle Meyr/Red Bull Content Pool
Leduex's rail skills are renowned
© Dom Daher/Red Bull Content Pool
Tess Ledeux at the Winter X Games in Aspen 2019
© Peter Morning/Red Bull Content Pool