2026 Olympics on the horizon for world champion ski jumper Alex Loutitt

The words "why not me" are tattooed on the back of Alexandria Loutitt's hand between her thumb and wrist.

That motto has served her well.

The 2026 Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy, are on the horizon for Canada's first world champion in ski jumping.

Loutitt claimed the 2023 world title in the women's large hill event, which will make its Olympic debut in Italy alongside the normal hill competition.

"It's the first time the women will have a large hill event, which is my specialty. That feels very exhilarating," said the 20-year-old from Calgary. "It definitely gets my heart pumping thinking about it."

Loutitt was the first Canadian woman to win a World Cup gold medal in January 2023. The next month opened with a world junior women's championship gold medal in Whistler, B.C., and closed with a world title in Planica, Slovenia.

WATCH l Loutitt becomes Canada's 1st-ever ski jumping world champ:

Calgary's Alexandria Loutitt becomes Canada’s 1st-ever world champion in ski jumping

Triumph wasn't without turmoil. She'd finished 26th in the normal hill event in Planica before winning on the large hill.

Before helping Canada's mixed team win bronze in Beijing in 2022 for her country's first Olympic medal in ski jumping, Loutitt was disqualified from the normal hill because she was 300 grams underweight.

"Some of my best results and biggest achievements have come after some of my worst results," she said. "I tend to thrive in a moment where I've been knocked down."

She believes some of her grit comes from stories heard at her grandfather Sandy's knee. Their Gwich'in First Nation heritage is through Sandy's mother, and Alex's great-grandmother, Laura McLeod.

Sandy Loutitt, born in Fort Smith, N.W.T., attended residential