Hailey Langland Is Embracing Her Recovery Time

Hailey Langland logs into our Zoom call from an exercise bike. She knows there’s no time to waste; the 25-year-old, who has been competing in Olympic Games since she was 17, is coming off a double whammy of injuries. First, she was in recovery for most of the last year for a torn right ACL, and then, on her first day back to practice in November, tore her left ACL. This, unfortunately, means she won’t be able to snowboard in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics.

“That was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make for myself,” Langland says. “But above all, from this whole process, I’ve learned my body is so, so important to me. And to continue to do the things I want to do, I had to take the step and remove myself from the Olympic running, which was obviously super hard. This is the first Olympics I’ve missed since I started competing in the Olympics.”

Langland got her start snowboarding at the age of 5, when her dad took her out onto the slopes in California, her home state. “We rode from sunup to sundown, and it was so fun,” she says. “It makes me think about why I snowboard — because it’s so fun. I think that’s just what keeps me going.” From there, Langland realized she had a real talent for the sport.

“It really started to get serious when I was around 14 years old,” she says. “I had been doing well enough in the amateur events to get this random spot in a pro amateur [in] the Mammoth World Cup.” This contest took place immediately after the 2014 Sochi Olympics, so many Olympians were also competing. “I ended up qualifying first,” Langland says. “And because the weather was so bad, they canceled the event and took the qualifier results. So me being 14, I won this event looking up to Anna Gasser, Enni Rukajärvi, and girls that I idolized.” That was a real turning point for the snowboarder. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just as good as them. I could do what they’re doing and travel the world.’”

Although Langland won’t be able to compete in Milano-Cortina this year, she’s used her rehab time to try her hand at new things, like watching a millennial-era favorite for the first time (“I’m kind of obsessed with the Jersey Shore right now”) and announcing. Her first commentating gig was at the X Games. “It was a cool experience,” she says. “I got to see how much work actually goes into the back of these big contests. I think when you’re an athlete, you kind of get lost in the ‘here’s everything on a silver platter; what do you guys need?’” She enjoyed being on the other side, seeing how much work goes into production. “I was amazed. It really made me have a new perspective and respect for these contests that do so much to put us on a stage and give us a voice and a chance to shine.”

Looking back, there were so many times I put so much pressure on myself, and I was just a kid.

Plus, she’s still plenty busy with her partnership with Red Bull, even during an off season while she’s recovering. “[During] the last year of being in PT and in the gym every day, I have realized how amazing this brand is and how much they prioritize their athletes’ health and wellness. And for me, that’s a huge thing, especially when going through a huge injury like this, and now I’m about to embark on a second one,” says Langland. “I just feel so fortunate and lucky to have them behind me and supporting me even after getting re-injured again.”

As Langland focuses on recovery, she looks back on how far she’s come since she was 14. “Looking back, there were so many times I put so much pressure on myself, and I was just a kid. I was a teenager. And now looking back as an adult, I’m like, I would not have been worried about half the things that I was worried about,” she says.

If she could speak to 14-year-old Hailey today, she knows exactly what she’d say: “Everything else will fall into place. Be a good person, treat everyone fairly, and be yourself. And that’s really all you can do at the end of the day.”