By Philip O'Connor
(Reuters) - The Dufour-Lapointe sisters are eying a clean sweep at the world freestyle championships on Sunday less than a year after two of them won Olympic gold and silver in the moguls event at Sochi.
Taking all three steps on the podium in the Austrian resort of Kreischberg is certainly not an impossibility for the three Canadian siblings.
Youngest sister and Olympic gold medalist Justine tops the moguls world rankings, while Chloe, who won silver in Sochi, is third and Maxime, the eldest, is fifth.
"For the world championship we qualified one-two-three, so that was a first for us," Justine, 20, told Reuters in an interview as the sisters as they arrived in Europe to make the final preparations for their world championship challenge.
"Our second dream? That might be a podium sweep. That would be awesome," she said. "And if it happens at this world championships that would be even more awesome."
The trio shot to stardom at the Sochi Games, with Justine and Chloe beating American favorite Hannah Kearney into third place in a thrilling Olympic final, where Maxime finished 12th.
"It took a while to realize what was happening," said the 23-year-old Chloe.
"For me it was first when I came back home and we did a media tour. Just to be home and realize that you have this medal, to look back at everything we accomplished together, it was an amazing moment."
The sisters were inundated with media requests and offers of commercial partnerships.
"We've been involved in some fashion and beauty projects -- we're still prioritizing skiing, but we're now juggling with a few more things on the side," explained 25-year-old Maxime.
One of those projects is to develop their 3SDL brand, but regardless of commercial pressures, all three are aware that they cannot afford to lose focus if they wish to remain at the top of their sport.
"This year there are a lot of different countries on the podium and that's good," said Chloe.
"We're always trying to reach another step, another gap that makes a difference between us and the other athletes," Justine added.
"We're always trying to go faster, to go bigger."
Much is often made of the fact that Maxime is the only sister without an Olympic medal, but it is not something that unduly worries her.
One of the first women to complete a back flip with a full twist in competition, she is looking to her jumps to help close the gap on her siblings.
"I've been working on my jumps in training, making them much more efficient to give me better performance," Maxime said.
"After the worlds I'm definitely planning on doing one (a back flip with a full twist) in competition.
"It's going to make a big difference to my season."