At six, Russian snowboarding prodigy is flying high

MOSCOW: Vasilisa Ermakova may be too young for school, but the six-year-old Russian girl has already made a name for herself as a snowboarding prodigy.

Vasilisa spends five hours a day barrelling down slopes outside Moscow and has even smashed a number of national records. Coached by her father — himself a former competitive snowboarder — from the age of three, Vasilisa has mastered 360-degree jumps off large snow banks and even 540-degree spins.

“I’m flying like a bird,” she says after landing one of the tricks. In summer, Vasilisa hones her skills on a skateboard and has set a Russian record in her age group for a descent at 48 kilometres per hour.