Contenders: Get to know 26 of the top freeskiers competing in Sochi

Contender:

noun (Kuh n-TEND er): a person who tries to win something in a contest; especially: a person who has a good chance of winning.

The global halfpipe and slopestyle circuits have many highly qualified competitors. From up-and-comers to seasoned veterans of the sport, each athlete’s outcome at the Games depends not only on his or her skill set but also on variables such as weather, mental toughness and dreaded injuries. We’ve narrowed down the field and highlighted the athletes that we feel are top contenders to go all the way; click below and get to know 26 of the top names in the sport—the skiers are listed in no particular order.

Age: 21

Hometown: Sheffield, United Kingdom

Growing up in the UK, one would think that Woods might have been more tempted to pick up a football (read: soccer ball) than a pair of skis, but luckily for the ski world, he learned to ski on the artificial slopes of Sheffield Ski Village. His first major podium came in 2011, when he won a bronze medal in slopestyle at X Games Europe in Tignes, France. Woodsy later earned a first place finish at the 2013 US Grand Prix in Copper, CO, following up one month later with a bronze medal in slope at X Games Aspen. While there, Woods shaved and dyed his hair to form his country’s flag; we expect he’ll try his darndest to do the Queen proud.

Maggie Voisin

Age: 22

Voisin is the youngest athlete on the U.S. Freeskiing team, poised to make waves this year and beyond. She learned to ski at Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana when she was just two years old and recently moved away from her home and her family to train in Park City. In 2013 she found her way onto seven podiums, including a first place at the USSA Junior Nationals and The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series event at Northstar-at-Tahoe. Most impressively, she took top honors in slopestyle at the WSI/AFP World Championships in Whistler. Voisin is no doubt a contender for Sochi in 2014, as well as Pyeongchang in 2018.

Russ Henshaw

Age: 23

He comes from a land Down Under and has been on skis since the age of three. The humble Henshaw won silver in slopestyle at the X Games in 2011, but suffered a major knee injury soon after, prompting doctors to speculate he may never ski again. Despite the prognosis, Henshaw has come back strong, winning the Dew Tour slopestyle event in December 2012, as well as the One Hit Wonder Down Under big air one month earlier. Henshaw placed third in slopestyle at the New Zealand Winter Games in August 2013, showing the world he’s prepared to make a strong bid for a medal in Sochi.

Gus Kenworthy

Age: 22

AFP Overall Champion the past three years running, Gus Kenworthy is one of few professional skiers to excel across three disciplines: slopestyle, halfpipe and big air. Often regarded as one of the most technically sound skiers on the competition circuit, Gus took home an eighth place finish in slopestyle at the New Zealand Winter Games, fifth place in slopestyle and fourth place in halfpipe at The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand in the fall of 2013. To further prepare him for Olympic qualifying events including Winter Dew Tour and Grand Prix events, Kenworthy logged abundant time in the world-class terrain parks of Breckenridge, Keystone and Copper, all of which were open for business this season since early November.

Nick Goepper

Age: 20

Goepper burst onto the pro scene during the 2010-11 season with multiple podium finishes, including a first place showing at the Dumont Cup at Sunday River, ME. Last season, he took home the coveted X Games slopestyle gold, earned another first place finish at the Dumont Cup and, unsurprisingly, took home the number one spot in the AFP slopestyle rankings. He started out this Olympic season with two first place finishes in New Zealand and one at the Dew Tour in Breckenridge. He later went on to defend his gold medal at the X Games; he stomped a triple cork 1440 en route to the top of the podium. Plus, Goepper has been known to spend time with gymnastics star and Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson—perhaps she’s lent him a few tips on how to succeed on the world’s biggest stage.

Andreas Håtveit

Age: 24

At 27, Håtveit is on the older side of the spectrum. He’s married and has a baby boy, and when he wants to train, all he has to do is go out to his backyard where he built and maintains his very own terrain park—snowcat and all. The easy-access to these impressive stomping grounds has yielded a consistency in his riding, which in turn has paid off with a number of podium finishes, including slopestyle bronze medals at Winter X and Euro X in 2012. Looking back to 2008, Håtveit took home gold at Winter X Games in Aspen; and this past January, after announcing this would be his final season of competition, Andreas added another X Games medal (bronze) to his collection. This most recent performance suggests daddy duties haven’t hindered “Dre’s” incredible work ethic, so we expect him to put on a show in Sochi, without a doubt.

Aaron Blunck

Age: 20

This young gun made a name for himself in 2013 when he bagged a second place finish in halfpipe at The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series event in Copper, CO, before placing 7th at the X Games in Aspen. He finished the season as the 5th place ranked skier in the AFP halfpipe standings, and he’s carried that momentum through the 2013/14 season, thus far, with a podium at Dew Tour, a big win at Grand Prix Copper and another podium at the Grand Prix in Park City; that final performance a memorable (and emotional) one, indeed, as Blunck was overjoyed to have secured an Olympic berth.

Elias Ambühl

Age: 21

This Swiss ripper is best known for his big air prowess, having earned two X Games medals in the discipline, along with first place finishes at the Jon Olsson Invitational, King of Style, freestyle.ch and more. Yet, a slopestyle win at the Euro Open in 2011 reminds us Elias can compete with the best of ‘em on the slopestyle side of things, as well. He spins like a rockstar in all four directions, and he lives like a rockstar off the hill, too, sitting behind the wheels of flashy cars and enjoying a bit of celebrity on his home turf—not exactly the standard for a 21-year-old.

Kevin Rolland

Age: 29

This French halfpipe star has enjoyed many successes over the past five years, first asserting his dominance in 2009 when he won the FIS World Halfpipe Championships. Among his other notable achievements are back-to-back-to-back-to-back superpipe gold medals at X Games Aspen and X Games Tignes in 2010 and 2011. After recovering from a torn ACL in 2012, he found his way to the podium last year in Park City for the US Grand Prix, where he took third, and again at X Games Tignes with another bronze medal finish. And in January of this year, Rolland continued his success at the Grand Prix in Park City, this time earning a big win. If Rolland can summon the same competitive spirit showcased in ’10 and ’11, and more recently in Utah, he’ll be among the favorites to medal in Sochi, without a doubt.

Maddie Bowman

Age: 20

Hometown: South Lake Tahoe, CA

The offspring of two ski racers, Bowman was born with skiing coursing through her veins. She quietly came on to the scene in the 2009/10 season and has been steadily improving to the point where she’s a regular on the halfpipe podiums. Last season, she placed first in two US Grand Prix events, won gold at X Games Aspen, silver at the Dew Tour and bronze at X Games Tignes. This year she took top honors in the Dew Tour halfpipe with an arsenal of tricks including 900s in both directions, and followed up with a slew of podiums including wins in Breckenridge and Park City, and most notably, X Games in Aspen. It’s safe to say Bowman is one to watch out for.

Rosalind Groenewoud

Age: 19

“Roz G” as she’s affectionately known, is a consistent top finisher in the halfpipe but had an exceptionally good year in 2012 when she bagged gold medals at both Winter X Games and went on to take first place in the AFP halfpipe standings. Her consistency has kept her among the top three finishers in AFP rankings since 2009 and she credits the late Sarah Burke, her former teammate, as her main role model. After undergoing knee surgery last season, Roz returned to competition this past January. In her first appearance following rehab, at X Games Aspen, Roz earned a silver medal. How’s that for a comeback?

Keri Herman

Age: 20

The Minnesota native was a late bloomer when it came to skiing. Herman hit her first rail on skis at the age of 21 while attending the University of Denver. Her early years were spent playing competitive hockey—she held a spot on the varsity team from the time she was in seventh grade all the way through her senior year of high school. Now, Herman is a regular on the slopestyle circuit, earning second place finishes in the AFP year-end rankings in 2009 and 2011, as well as a third place finish in the overall category in 2012. The energetic Herman has “HI 5” tattooed on her palm, and we speculate the number of high-fives she’s given in the past few years must be into the six digit range.

Bobby Brown

Age: 20

Bobby burst onto the freeskiing scene in 2010 when he became the first skier to ever take home gold in two X Games disciplines in the same year: big air and slopestyle. Since then, Brown has become one of the faces of slopestyle skiing, gracing podiums at events across the world, and balancing contests with shooting video, starring in films by Matchstick Productions and Poor Boyz Productions, too. Bobby is coming off of an ankle injury sustained in 2013, but steadily improved his strength and consistency throughout the Olympic qualifying process, bagging a few podiums along the way. Given this recent success, we anticipate Bobby will be at the top of his game in Sochi.

Dara Howell

Age: 19

Howell was the youngest woman to compete at Winter X Games in 2012, where she placed sixth in slopestyle and seventh in halfpipe; she went on to take bronze at Euro X in slopestyle that same year. She kicked off her 2013/14 season with a silver medal at the New Zealand Winter Games and followed up with outstanding showings at the Grand Prix events and also at X Games. While she barely missed the podium at X, this past January, many felt she was deserving of a medal. Expect her to make a strong bid for a podium spot in Sochi.

Mike Riddle

Age: 19

The Canadian-born Riddle has been a mainstay on the halfpipe circuit since the mid 2000s. Before moving into the terrain park, Riddle ventured into the moguls and aerials side of skiing, but it quickly became evident that Riddle belonged in the pipe. His podium finishes are numerous, he’s a joy to watch ski, and he’s a class act. In addition to his continued success on the AFP World Tour, Riddle coaches youngsters at Momentum Ski Camps in Whistler, BC in the summertime. With a victory at the US Grand Prix at Copper in early 2013, a bronze at the Sochi test event and, more recently, a silver medal performance at the Grand Prix in Breckenridge, Riddle has proven himself a contender for Olympic hardware.

Justin Dorey

Age: 19

Back in 2011, Justin Dorey became the first skier to land a switch double cork 1080 in superpipe competition, earning him a silver medal at the X Games in Tignes, France. The following season he took home first place at the Winter Dew Tour at Breckenridge, thanks in part to a stylish air-to-fakie that impressed the judges, as well as his fellow competitors. While he’s battled injury in the past few years, he’s a marked man when he’s at the top of his game. An interesting tidbit about Dorey: He eats sushi every night before a competition.

PK Hunder

Age: 24

PK Hunder is a veteran big air and slopestyle skier who grew up in the shadow of the 1994 Olympic venue in Lillehammer, Norway. He came from relative obscurity to win the 2007 Jon Olsson Invitational (JOI) in Åre, Sweden; the performance put his name on the map and jump-started his career. Said career, though, has been plagued with injuries including a broken neck in 2009 at the very competition that he won two years prior. PK skied well in 2012, picking up a number of top ten finishes including another win at JOI. With a strong, aggressive style, he has inspired the next generation of Norwegian freeskiers—but he’s got a few things to teach ‘em, yet.

Marie Martinod

Age: 29

Given the tremendous rate at which halfpipe skiing is growing, it’s rare that a top contender in 2003 should also be a threat in 2013—but Martinod has accomplished just that. Between 2003-2005, she won two US Open titles, the FIS World Cup, the World Ski Invitational and European Open—all in halfpipe. In 2006 she earned herself a bronze medal at the X Games, among other accolades, but hung up her boots and disappeared from the scene to start a family and pursue other interests. Once freeskiing’s Olympic berth came about, and with a bit of inspiration drawn in the name of the late Sarah Burke, Martinod returned to competition and came back with a vengeance, taking gold at X Games Tignes in 2013 with her daughter Melirose looking on. This season, she earned podiums at the Grand Prix in Park City, and X Games Aspen, too. Following a reemergence like that, Martinod is certainly one to keep an eye on.

Brita Sigourney

Age: 20

This California girl has been skiing for as long as she has been walking; she joined the Alpine Meadows Freestyle Team when she was just eight years old. In 2011 she earned herself a silver medal in halfpipe at Winter X, and she followed up with X Games bronze in 2012. In February of 2013, at the Olympic test event in Sochi, Brita suffered a broken collarbone, along with an injured shoulder and a reinjured knee. Brita was back on snow in October, and went on to take a big win at the Grand Prix at Copper Mountain in December. Being the fierce competitor that she is, she’ll have a strong showing in Sochi, for sure.

Kaya Turski

Age: 19

To say that Kaya Turski has dominated the women’s slopestyle scene for the past few years would be an understatement. Out of 25 AFP events that she entered following the New Zealand Freeski Open in 2008, Turski podiumed at 23, including 19 first place finishes. Unfortunately, the slopestyle queen suffered a tear of her ACL while training on Mt. Hood this summer. Determined not to let the injury block her road to Sochi, Turski enlisted the help of orthopedic surgeon Robert Litchfield, who performed an experimental surgery involving a synthetic ligament. Ever since, Kaya has been hard at work, rehabbing in an attempt to return to tip-top-shape. And it seems she’s just about there, as she earned a win at the X Games in Aspen less than one month ago. That’s five months out of surgery. No big deal, right?

Joss Christensen

Age: 20

Joss Christensen grew up skiing Park City, UT, honing skills that have allowed him to compete in both slopestyle and halfpipe competitions on the AFP World Tour. Christensen finished 4th and 5th overall in the AFP rankings for 2012 and 2013, and looks for a strong showing in the Olympics, having qualified during last month’s Grand Prix at Park City Mountain Resort; there, Joss earned his first major contest win.

Jossi Wells

Age: 27

Jossi Wells earned the status of AFP Overall Champion in 2010 at the age of 19. The Kiwi has spent many years in the limelight, excelling in both the slopestyle and halfpipe disciplines and making regular appearances in hit films and the pages of Freeskier. What sets Jossi apart from the masses is his ultra-smooth style; his clean, balanced approach to skiing is perhaps enhanced by the fact that this currently-bearded wonder is pretty darn nimble on a snowboard, a skateboard and a motorcycle, too. Jossi’s brothers, Byron, Beau-James and Jackson are all professional skiers, as well.

Anna Segal

Age: 27

This 27-year-old Aussie has been skiing since the age of four and once had her sights set on the Olympics as a mogul skier. After coming back from a knee injury at the age of 18 she decided to take her skills to the terrain park, where she quickly emerged as a top contender. Among her accomplishments are a first place finish in 2012 at the WSI/AFP World Championships and bronze medal performances at last season’s Dew Tour and US Grand Prix at Copper. Back in ’09, she won the inaugural women’s slopestyle contest at X Games Aspen. Segal wrangled with another knee injury last summer, but credits the time off with allowing her to prepare mentally for the upcoming season.

Devin Logan

Age: 20

Devin Logan has been making a splash on the competition circuit for a number of years. A ski racer early on, a push from her older brothers Sean and Chris, both pro skiers, got her into the park and pipe. Logan cut her teeth shredding park laps at Vermont’s Mount Snow, and made her X Games debut, competing in both halfpipe and slopestyle, in 2011. The twenty-year-old was also back-to-back AFP Overall Champion in 2010 and 2011. Coming off of a knee injury in 2012, Logan is back in good health as evidenced by her first place finishes in slopestyle at this year’s Dew Tour and the Grand Prix at PCMR. She’s a force to be reckoned with in both halfpipe and slopestyle, though she won’t be competing in pipe at the Olympics.

Alex Beaulieu-Marchand

Age: 19

The 19-year-old from Quebec took home fifth in slopestyle at last year’s X Games Tignes and created quite the buzz after standing out in Stept Productions’ latest film release, Mutiny. ABM, as he’s known, has had a great competition season thus far; he earned a podium finish at Dew Tour and showcased his ultra smooth style at the Grand Prix events and X Games Aspen, too. ABM will certainly be one to watch for on the slopestyle course in Sochi.