CNN
By Ben Church, CNN
(CNN) — When he squeezes into his bright red ski suit and puts on his Darth Vader-esque helmet, speed skier Simon Billy hears nothing and sees very little.
Despite almost losing two of his senses, the Frenchman has one goal on his mind – to simply go as fast as he can on two skis down a breathtakingly steep hill.
Speed skiers regularly go at speeds over 120 mph in competition and Billy is currently the best to ever do it; in fact, no one in the world has ever traveled faster on land without mechanical assistance.
For perspective, the World Air Sports Federation states that the terminal speed of the human body freefalling in a stable, head down position is between 240 and 290 km/h (149.13 and 180.2 mph) – speed skiers, then, are effectively plummeting through the sky.
“The feeling is just crazy. It’s about freedom, just pushing the limits. For sure, every speed skier wants to be, one day, the world record holder. It was my dream,” he tells CNN Sports.
That dream came true in 2023, when Billy recorded a speed of 255.500 km/h (158.760 mph), on the slopes in Vars, France. His new standard also eclipsed one of the previous records of 243.902 km/h that was set by his father, Philippe, in 1997.
But this adrenaline-fueled winter sport, which demands both physicality and a rock-solid mindset, will not feature at next month’s Winter Olympics in Italy.
In fact, it’s only ever been a showcase event at the Winter Olympics once before, debuting at the Games in 1992 and proving a hit at the time.
With the Games heading to France in 2030, there is work underway to include this astonishing sport into the schedule, but Billy says the speed skiing community is also content with its current position.
“It would be a bonus for us to be at the Olympics because as an athlete, for sure, I want to be at the Olympics one day. It’s like a dream for us,” he says.
“But if we are not, it’s okay because we still have this adventure to be the fastest skier in the world. The most important thing in this sport is the world record. I’d prefer to have a world record than a gold medal at the Olympics.”
Lifetime ambition
How exactly Billy earned a world record is a culmination of a lifetime of hard work and a family effort which taps into decades of experience.
Being raised in the French Alps meant Billy was brought up in the outdoors. Skiing became second nature as he spent his childhood watching his own father push his limits as a world-class speed skier.
Over the years of being surrounded by this niche community, Billy developed his own ambition in the sport – he wanted to become the world record holder.
That, though, takes time. First, you have to be physically ready to deal with the extreme pressure on your body when you’re going so fast. That requires plenty of strength training in the gym, with the aim of getting strong and heavy, but not too big as to limit your own aerodynamics.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, it takes a while to train your mind. That, it seems, is more innate.
Watch a video of Billy speed skiing and you’ll understand why the sport is as much a feat of combatti