Laila Friis-Salling (born 11 April 1985) is a Greenlandic and Danish

freestyle skier Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins and can include skiers sliding rails and ...

. Born to a politician and a businessman, she started

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

and later switched to

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

, taking up

freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...

due to a bet. Friis-Salling made her international debut in 2014 and competed in the World Cup series the following year. She would eventually compete at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

with the support of the Danish Ski Federation and Greenland Ski Federation. Before the Games, she would suffer from multiple injuries. She would compete in the women's halfpipe and did not advance to the finals of her event. After her retirement, she would compete at the dancing competition ''

Vild med dans ''Vild med dans'' is the Danish version of the British reality TV competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and is part of the ''Dancing with the Stars'' franchise. It is shown on TV 2 in Denmark. Seasons 1 and 2 were co-hosted by Andrea Elisabeth ...

'' and was the sixth contestant to be eliminated. There, she would meet her eventual husband, actor Mads Madsen. Together, they had two children.

Early life and education

Laila Friis-Salling was born on 11 April 1985 in

Qeqertarsuaq Qeqertarsuaq (, historically known as Godhavn) is a port and town in Qeqertalik municipality, located on the south coast of Disko Island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, the town is now home to a campus of the University of Cop ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. Her mother

Augusta Salling Augusta Salling (born 1954) is a former finance minister of Greenland. She began as a teacher. Her political roles before finance minister included being a member of a Parliament and mayor of Qeqertarsuaq from 1993 to 1997. In 2003 she refused to ...

is a politician while her father Jens Kristian Friis-Salling is a business owner in Greenland and was ranked Denmark's 80th richest man according to

Berlingske ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, 'Berling's Times'), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' is ...

. She has a brother named Bent who also serves as her coach. Friis-Salling started sport at the age of twelve when she started

and later switched to

. Her introduction to skiing occurred as the result of a bet – a friend wagered with Friis-Salling that she would not be capable of excelling in the sport, prompting her to immediately purchase skis. Within two months she was competing on skis in the Danish halfpipe championships. For her education, Laila studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and later lived in

Aalborg Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...

Career

Friis-Salling made her international debut for Denmark in December 2014 in a competition in Copper Mountain, United States; she would place 17th in the competition. A few weeks after the competition, she would get enough qualifying points to qualify for the

Nor-Am Cup The Nor-Am Cup (North American Cup) is one of the tours of competitions organized by the International Ski Federation, and it takes place in North America. The Nor-Am Cup gives athletes who have qualified for these races the opportunity to compete ...

held in

Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located in the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera County, California, Madera and Mono County, California, Mono counties. It is home to a large Mammoth Mounta ...

; there, she would place 15th. She then made her World Cup debut during the

2014–15 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup The 2014/15 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup was the thirty sixth World Cup season in freestyle skiing organised by International Ski Federation. The season started on 5 December 2014 and ended on 15 March 2015. This season included five disciplines ...

, placing as high as tenth during the racing circuit. Friis-Salling's first World Championships appearance would be at the

FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships 2017 The 2017 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships were held in Sierra Nevada, Spain, from March 6–19, 2017. Snowboard cross team events for men and women were introduced to the championships schedule for the first time, bringing ...

held in

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

, Spain, though she would not medal and placed 20th. A year later, she would compete at the

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang ( , ; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seo ...

, South Korea, representing Denmark. In the lead-up to the Winter Games, she would suffer multiple injuries including broken ribs, a concussion, and a dislocated elbow. She would be supported by both the Danish Ski Federation and Greenland Ski Federation. She would train in

Mammoth Lakes Mammoth Lakes is the only incorporated town in Mono County, California, United States. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,191, reflecting a ...

for her preparations for the Winter Games. At the Winter Games, she would compete in the women's halfpipe and would place 23rd in the qualifying stage, not advancing to the finals.

Post-retirement

After her retirement, she would compete in the fifteenth season of ''

'', the Danish version of the ''Dancing with the Stars'' franchise. There, she would be the sixth person eliminated from the competition. While at the competition, she would meet actor Mads Madsen and would begin dating in December 2018. They later had two children and got married in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friis-Salling, Laila 1985 births Living people Greenlandic people of Danish descent Danish female freestyle skiers Greenlandic female freestyle skiers Freestyle skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic freestyle skiers for Denmark 21st-century Danish sportswomen People from Qeqertarsuaq