Maisie Hill: Great Britain snowboarder on crash that changed her for better

Snowboarder Maisie Hill suffered life-threatening injuries after crashing during a training session in Switzerland

When freestyle snowboarder Maisie Hill crashed into a wall of ice during a training session, breaking multiple bones and losing so much blood she almost died, she did not think months later it would be something she would be thankful for.

The 22-year-old Great Britain athlete, from Cheltenham, was in the form of her life at the time - having achieved her best-ever results at multiple World Cups over the winter.

But while training in Switzerland she was going fast up a rail on her board when she slipped off, careering into a wall of sheer ice.

The accident left her with a broken spine, ribs and pelvis, a fractured lung, bleed on the brain and a lacerated liver.

"I got a grade three laceration in my liver which meant I lost over 20% of my blood, and I almost died because of that," Hill told BBC Points West.

"I remember little bits. I remember that it was really painful, and I remember feeling like a bag of bones because nothing was together. I got helicoptered out of there to the hospital. I had to have emergency surgery."

Hill spent two weeks in hospital before returning home to Cheltenham, where she is continuing her recovery

Four months on and Hill is back at home in Gloucestershire recovering. She had to learn to walk again and now spends time rehabilitating in the gym and swimming, but the crash has not changed her view of snowboarding.

In fact, it has made her more determined to come back even stronger and reach her ultimate goal of competing at the Winter Olympics.

"I'm feeling so positive, I've learnt so much from this injury and I'm really glad that it's happened to me. I feel like it was meant to happen to me," Hill said.

"I just know that I want this more than ever. I want to do really well in the Olympics and get to the X Games, and be the best possible version of myself."

'Everything was taken away'

Hill started out on the dry ski slope in Gloucester and aged 10 she moved to the French Alps with her dad, where she discovered snowboarding.

By the time she reached her late teens Hill realised she wanted to step up a level, and when she got a new coach it changed her life.

Within months the difference in her performance was noticeable. She entered her first World Cup in March 2022 and came seventh, followed by a third and eighth at Europa Cup competitions. Another two World Cup top 10s followed last winter.

"I was having a really good pre-season, probably the best I've ever had starting in October. I was learning loads of new tricks, my progression was skyrocketing. I was on track to have the best season ever," Hill said.

Then the accident happened.

After her operation, Hill spent two weeks in hospital, with the first totally bedbound.

"I was feeling really down and just felt like everything had been taken away from me," she continued.

"I was back down to zero - I didn't know how long it was going to be until I could even walk again, or if I could even snowboard again. It was really heartbreaking."

Hill was in the form of her life and had finished in the top 10 of two World Cup rounds this winter before the crash

It was then that Hill's coach came to visit her. The accident had had an affect on him, too, and he told Hill he was thinking of quitting as he could not watch any more athletes end up in hospital.

"I was like 'you've literally changed my life, you've got me from sort of doing well at Europa Cups to getting top 10 in world cups in not even a year'. He's been the best thing that's ever happened to me and he was like 'I'm going to leave'.

"Then he said, 'well, you have to come back stronger than this if you want me to carry on. You have to come back 10 times stronger than you were before'.

"That really hit me, that hit me really hard and it just felt like even though I'd had everything taken away from me it was like a good thing now, it was like I was reborn," Hill said.

"I could start again, I had a second chance at life, the universe had given me a second chance and it was great."

'See the world in a different way'

While recovering, Hill is working in a local cafe to keep some structure in her day, swims daily and is supported by the English Institute of Sports in Bath with her rehabilitation.

The aim is to get back training in the mountains by the summer and return to competition this autumn.

"I truly believe that I was always supposed to break my pelvis because I was always meant to learn these lessons that I learnt," Hill added.

"I see the world in a completely different way and I really want to try way harder than before.

"I now know what it feels like to not know if you're going to be able to snowboard, and that sucks because I never want to feel that again, so I really want to try hard now. I'm going to try harder than I ever have done."