Architect Kathy finds love in skiing, makes M'sia proud

When 42-year-old Khadijah Ismail left for Melbourne, Australia, in 2006 for further studies, little did she know that she would find herself immersed in a new passion - downhill skiing.

“I started downhill skiing in 2008 and thought it was the most exhilarating sport for me.

“In 2012, I discovered cross-country skiing and fell totally in love with it. Going downhill at 46km per hour with no helmet? Sure thing, but don’t do this in an open track, please!” she told Malaysiakini.

Downhill skiing is a recreational and competitive sport in which skiers descend a snow-covered slope, typically at a ski resort, using skis with fixed-heel bindings.

It involves speed, turns, and navigating a designated course or slope.

This is in contrast to cross-country skiing, which is a recreational and competitive sport where skiers descend and ascend a ski trail using skis with free-heel bindings.

Cross-country ski access doesn’t involve a chairlift system.

Racing ahead

Khadijah, who goes by “Kathy”, said she participated in her first distance skiing event - a 7km race - in 2015 after gaining some confidence.

She then followed up with a 21km race in 2016.

“I won a local race in 2021. The distance was 10km, and I was on the podium alongside Australian Olympians.

“Before August 2022, I was always the ‘unofficial’ Malaysian participant in every race I entered.

“In August, I finally received my accreditation from the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), which enabled me to officially race for Malaysia,” she said.

Khadijah said since then, she has travelled to Korea, Japan, Germany, Finland, and Norway to race.

“For now, I have been a podium staple for the Masters category. I hope to keep skiing around the world and keep winning my age category. To win a championship would be a dream,” she said.

Too old for skis?

Despite her passion, Khadijah said that she sometimes gets queried for participating in skiing events due to her age.

However, she said a person can aspire towards anything as long as there is passion.

“I do get remarks like… ‘Woah, Malaysian? Malaysia has a skier? Can she really ski? She is quite old.’

“To me, it doesn’t matter. If I still have the passion and the drive to compete alongside the 20-year-olds, why not? After all, there is no age limit to go to the Olympics.

“My recent participation in the FIS World Ski Championship was to prove to the world that Malaysia now has both male and female entrants.

“And I hope that I could inspire our Malaysian youths to qualify for the next World Ski Championship in 2027. Do you know that there was a 49-year-old skier who qualified for the Olympics?” she asked.

It should be noted that the KL-born Khadijah, who holds a Master’s degree from Deakin University, is a full-time architect and runs her own architectural firm.

Making her daughter proud

Elaborating on her success in juggling her work and passion, Khadijah said it was about instilling good values in her daughter.

“I want to show her that hard work will get you closer to your dreams, whether that is to win or to simply do your best.

“One of my favourite quips from my husband recently was when my daughter saw a skier on the podium and she cried, ‘Next time you’ve got to be on that podium, mama!’

“To that, my husband replied, ‘If you want her to win, you probably won’t see her as much anymore’,” Khadijah said with a chuckle.

Khadijah said challenges become 10 times harder when one has a family, especially when it comes to skiing events that require early preparations.

“One of the hardest has always been trying to get a babysitter during my races,” she said.

Relating an incident which happened in 2022, Khadijah said both she and her husband participated in the Master's World Cup in Canmore, Canada.

“At this time, I was representing Australia as Malaysia had no master’s team yet.

“The Canadian OC (organising committee) had kindly arranged a babysitter, who was an athlete with the Canadian team, dedicated to our racing schedule.

“The babysitter and my daughter, who was only three years old then, had a great time skiing, ice skating, and playing in the snow together.

“When we were both racing, they were cheering for us in the spectator zone. The babysitter’s presence was a massive help to our training and race schedule,” Khadijah stated.

Last year, Khadijah’s sister stepped up to help babysit her daughter during a tournament.

“In early 2024, in my bid to qualify for the FIS World Ski Championship in Trondheim, Norway, I asked one of my sisters to come along.

“This way, we could have some bonding time as well as having someone trustworthy to take care of my daughter, who was just five at the time.

“Both my husband and I had to be at the stadium to wax my skis, test the skis, and also survey the trails for the race. We were so lucky to have my sister helping out,” she added.

However, Khadijah said she managed to complete the FIS World Ski Championship held earlier this year without a babysitter.

“Our daughter is a little older, and I have more ski prep experience, so I managed to do my ski prep at reasonably good speed with a reasonably good result.”

‘Listen to your heart’

On what advice she would give fellow Malaysians who want to pursue their passion, Khadijah urged them to prioritise themselves and listen to their hearts.

“For the mothers - you can’t pour from an empty cup. I did whatever it takes to make sure my daughter was taken care of before my activities.

“Also, stay safe. Share your schedule with your family. I also like to go trail running or running by myself, so I’d inform them where I am going, with a time frame and location.

“And I’m grateful to have the support of my family. My husband, who will step in whenever I have to travel for training or for my races.

“If you need motivation, I found that being in groups helps a lot. Join a local gym or a group for your favourite sport,” she added.

Khadijah also urged event organisers to make it easy for women to participate by having more women-friendly amenities and facilities.

“Offer help when they want to do sports. The husband can look after the children while the wife goes running or to the gym. Make them feel safe,” she added.

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