Emma Weiss, a German Olympian.

Ski acrobat relies on love for God

With financial worries and driven by faith in God, Emma Weiss goes to her second Winter Olympics.

February 16, 2026

From: dpa

In aerials, the 26-year-old is considered a lone wolf from a German perspective, and she feels this reflected in her funding. "I still have to finance myself completely," said Weiß at the German team hotel in Livigno. The Swabian native will start the qualification round on Tuesday (10:45 a.m.), which she failed to advance from in Beijing in 2022. She is currently ranked 13th in the overall World Cup standings.

She takes care of acquiring and managing sponsors, as well as planning and organizing travel. "A season isn't exactly cheap; we're talking about roughly 70.000 euros – that has to come from somewhere," explained Weiß, who can at least count on support from the German Sports Aid Foundation. "But that only covers a fraction of what I need. I really need to get some more money from somewhere this year, otherwise I'll end up with a loss."

New perspectives after experience

The ski acrobat has drawn strength from a personal experience for the past two years, as she explained: “I had an encounter with God at Pentecost, since then I have been on a journey for God, trying to use the stage to be able to tell about him, because I was able to feel his love and his grace, which is simply not of this world.”

The Olympic aerials competition is a freestyle skiing discipline in which athletes jump off a steep ramp and perform multiple flips and twists in the air. The takeoff, the execution of the tricks in the air, and the landing are all judged, with difficulty and precision playing a major role.