Olympic Freestyle Skiers of the 2006 Torino Games: Who Are They and How Do They Train?

What is Freestyle Skiing?

As the 2006 Torino Olympic Games approach, many of you may find yourself glued to your television. With so many events, it can be difficult to set priorities. If you want to watch an event that combines extreme grace with athleticism, schedule some time to watch the Olympic Freestyle Skiing events. The sport of freestyle skiing was originated in the 1960s by Stein Eriksen, a Norwegian skier who held the championship in the sport for many years. When Eriksen retired he became a coach for the United States Olympic Ski Team. He became inspired by the moves and tricks of young skateboarders, and decided to incorporate their techniques into freestyle ski training. Today, this exciting discipline has been rapidly gaining popularity. The competition consists of a variety of events that require the finesse of an alpine skier with the agility of a gymnast. Two Freestyle Events will be performed at the Torino 2006 Olympic Games:

>Aerials: The aerial events consist of two consecutive jumps which are judged by the quality of their execution along with their degree of difficulty. The result is based on the sum of the two scores. The event is judged by three factors. How much air the athlete gets during the jumps accounts for 20% of the score. Their form comprises 50% and their landing completes the other 30%. Contrary to popular opinion, the amount of air the athlete gets is irrelevant if their form is sloppy, or if they don’t “stick” their landing.

> Moguls: If you’ve ever skied a bump run and experienced that “yikes” sensation, imagine down a steep slope as quickly as possible and performing two acrobatic maneuvers. Technique accounts for 50% of the score, aerials 25% and speed 25%. Although most of us are probably not interested in becoming Olympic Freestyle Mogul skiers, understanding the judging criteria can help us with our own mogul skiing. The skiers are judged by the economy of their movement. Excessive upper body movements and flailing arms are unacceptable. The skiers must also ski close to the fall line. In other words, they cannot traverse the slopes or “shop” for bumps. Use of the ski poles is another crucial factor. The pole touch happens at the apex of the bump. Olympic freestyle mogul skiers must demonstrate an aggressive style, while maintaining complete control of their skis.

Freestyle Skiers to Watch at Torino

Jeremy Bloom is the American Master of Moguls. Born in Fort Collins Colorado in 1982, he inherited his love of skiing from his mother, who was an instructor at Keystone. Bloom’s athleticism extended beyond the snow-covered hills. At Loveland High School, he played receiver for the football team, In his Junior year, he was state champion for the 800 meter relay team. Many would say that his overall athleticism benefits his mogul skiing, where speed, agility and fast reaction times are paramount to success.

Toby Dawson is sometimes referred to a “Awesome Dawson.” Although he was born in , at the age of three, he was adopted by two ski instructors from Vail. Of course, his parents had him on skis by the age of six, and by aged 12, he “converted” to freestyle skiing. Dawson has appeared in four of Warren Miller’s extreme skiing movies. When he’s not skiing, Dawson is into fishing, dirt-biking, golfing and surfing.

Hannah Kearney was born in 1986 in Norwich, Vermont. Like her male counter parts, she was an exceptional high school athlete, excelling in sports such as soccer and track. The daughter of two parents with physical education degrees, Kearney does her parents proud. She can be easily identified in any freestyle event by the flower adorned braids that hang from her helmet.

Emily Cook had once been the top female aerialist in the .Her medals include the gold at the 2001 U.S. Championships, the silver at the 2001 Grand Nationals, a bronze medal at the 2001 World Cup at DeerValley. Prior to becoming a freestyle aerialist, Cook was a gymnast and a diver. She was sure thing for the 2001 Salt Lake City Olympics, untila crash landing in Lake Placid broke two bones in her foot. Today, with two surgeries, an aggressive rehab plan and a willful spirit, she is ready for Torino.

Fit for Freestyling

Olympic freestyle athletes need to adhere to a strict fitness regimen, which must incorporate strength, balance, speed, coordination, agility and quickness. Scott Higgins, US Ski and Snowboard Team physiologist believes that his goal is not to produce a better freestyle skier. Instead, he wants to create better freestyle athletes. According to Higgins, athleticism is “the ability to execute athletic movements at optimum speed with precision, style, and grace.”

Mogul skiers need to extend and compress their body in a manner that conforms to the shape of the snow. In order to maintain the economy of movement which the judges demand, they must keep a quiet upper body. As they move up and down through the moguls, any excessive movement will result in a loss of balance. For this reason, Higgins puts major emphasis on exercises that enhance core stability. These activities include jumping rope on a balance beam and trampoline drills. The exercises are designed to mimic the movement patterns found in mogul competition. In the off-season, the Olympic Freestyle Athletes perform body weight squats, platform jumps and multi-directional lunges.

While you may not want to ski at the same intensity as an Olympic Freestyle Skier, adapting parts of their fitness regimens can improve your general skiing. Equipment such as stability balls, dyna discs and the bosu will not only improve your general skiing. You’ll be in gold medal shape all year round.