Alternating every two years, top-tier athletes from across the globe come together to compete at the world’s largest multi-sport events: the Summer and Winter Olympics. Only around 2,900 athletes worldwide take part in the winter competition, according to Olympics.com, the official site of the International Olympic Committee. Senior Daniel Oskov (he/him), who has been alpine skiing for nine years, said he is on track to represent Bulgaria in the 2030 Winter Olympics in France.
Unlike other types of Olympic skiing — like Nordic skiing, which takes place on flatter terrain and requires more endurance, or freestyle, which involves jumps and acrobatic tricks in terrain parks — alpine skiing focuses more on speed, agility and control. Within alpine skiing, there are several disciplines that differ in distances and gate spacing. Downhill, slalom and giant slalom are variations but all include carving around gates and take place on groomed terrain.
“Alpine skiing is just a race from the top of the hill to the bottom of the hill,” Oskov said. “Whoever’s time’s the fastest across two runs is the winner.”
Oskov initially planned to take part in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, race organizers were unable to prepare a hill in a California competition — which Oskov needed to compete in to qualify for the games — due to unpredictable snow conditions, resulting in them cancelling it. This, in combination with a sports injury earlier this year, prevented him from attending any other competitions. He is currently working with a physical therapist, who has worked with UFC fighters and the Seattle Sounders, to recover and be able to compete again.
“Major injuries happen maybe once or twice per person,” Oskov said. “It just depends on how hard you’re pushing — but it’s common.”
In addition to maintaining his physical health, Oskov said that the mental work that goes on behind the scenes significantly impacts his performance, especially at such a high level in skiing.
“I don’t think it is something that is widely discussed,” Oskov wrote in an email. “But I now see how large and important it is.”
Oskov said that the immense pressure to perform well can cause him to lose focus and lead to worse results. As a result, he spends a lot of time working with his mother, a therapist.
Together, they identify gaps in Oskov’s performance that hold him back, and find ways to overcome them.
“I would go as far as to say that mental training and visualization, and mental work as a whole, is equally important as the physical training, at the higher levels,” Oskov wrote in that same email.
In the mornings before races, Oskov listens to recordings to help him visualize skiing with the form of world cup athletes. Utilizing this strategy, he is able to get in an aggressive, precise and extremely focused — but still calm and collected — mental state. Oskov said exercises like these are key to reaching the highest level of athletics.
“The belief in yourself and that idea that you can do it and you are able to get past the challenge both off and on the slope is something that has taken time, but is extremely helpful in achieving what you want without different things getting in the way,” Oskov wrote in an email.
For eight years, Oskov skied for Stevens Pass Alpine Club, but he switched to Crystal Mountain Alpine Club this year. He said his favorite part about skiing is just being part of a team.
“We go to all the races together as one,” Oskov said.“You spend more time with these people than you spend with your family.”
Having started specifically training for the Olympics six years ago, Oskov said that he trains from eight in the morning to noon and one to three in the afternoon every weekend and often attends all-day races during the weekdays from December to April. Because skiing is a seasonal sport, Oskov endures heavier and more intense conditioning over the summer. In the winter, he only does conditioning three times a week to stay in shape.
“I do BFR, which is blood flow restriction training for building muscle quickly,” Oskov said. “I do just regular general exercises for endurance and then cardio for cardiovascular endurance. The conditioning and training is just gates — it’s a race, essentially, with no time.”
Throughout the years, he estimated that he’s completed over 1000 days of training and conditioning. With such a busy schedule, Oskov finished his second semester of his junior year with a school attendance rate of just 60%.
Regardless, Oskov is an IB Diploma student, which requires him to consistently plan and communicate ahead of time with his teachers to stay on top of the rigorous coursework.
“Your teachers have to understand what you’re doing. It’s not like I’m missing for fun or I’m missing it just because I want to miss it,” Oskov said. “I’m missing it for a point.”
With skiing taking time away from his other commitments, such as school and his summertime hobby of mountain biking, Oskov must exercise discipline to make the most of his limited time.
“It’s just mostly time management and organization and telling yourself that when you sit down and do homework, you’re not gonna have Instagram open and scrolling while doing homework,” Oskov said. “Just focus.”
Despite missing significant school time and constantly having to make up large amounts of work, Oskov doesn’t regret pursuing his dream. He and his family grew up skiing. Watching the athletes in his local ski club race while he was still in ski school inspired him to join the welcoming community he’s in now.
“You just get really, really close to these people,” Oskov said. “The memories that you make hanging out and racing and having fun together — it’s pretty cool.”
Each alpine skier starts off with 999 points. The closer to zero, the higher their rank. Here are the top 5 skiers for Bulgaria for downhill skiing:*
- Daniel Oskov (182.89)
- Simon Eric Stoyano (307.55)
- Samuel Shipkoff (327.13)
- Konstantin Stoilov (727.29)
- Albert Popov (999.99)
*Data from 17th FIS Points List 2025/26 as of Feb. 3.
