Deer Valley • Pressure?
Ashley Caldwell feels it every day at work.
“We do a bunch of backflips up in the air and we fall or land from 60 feet up in the air,” the Olympic aerialist says with a laugh. “So I have this much anxiety all the time.”
But as Caldwell and the other skiers from Team USA take to the slopes this week, there will be even more pressure on them.
Only two U.S. freestyle skiers — moguls skier Jaelin Kauf and aerialist Kiley McKinnon — have earned the two podium finishes so far this season to meet the qualifications for next month’s Olympic games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. So this week’s Freestyle World Cup at Deer Valley, one of three Olympic qualifying events left on the calendar, carries some added significance as the Americans try to solidify their roster.
Still, Caldwell is trying to keep everything in perspective.
“With the Olympics, it’s a lot more [pressure] but it’s still only a fraction of what I’m worried about,” Caldwell said. “Every jump, every competition is a single event. … Yes, we all have these big, great goals but it takes that one jump, that one competition to get those results and have that confidence and momentum leading into the Olympics. I’m just trying not to crash on my head.”
Kauf, a 21-year-old from Wyoming, should be one of the top U.S. contenders when the moguls skiers take the hill Wednesday and Thursday. Moguls skier Troy Murphy, meanwhile, hopes to use the momentum of a recent podium finish and two days on home snow to help punch his ticket to Pyeongchang.
“I’m really excited to have that big crowd out there cheering for us,” said Murphy, the Maine native who now lives and trains in Park City.
On Friday, the hill will belong to the aerialists.
One of the top U.S. men, Mac Bohonnon is trying to block out big-picture concerns as he preps for this week’s event at Deer Valley and the two remaining qualifying events next week at Lake Placid, N.Y.
“I look back to four years ago. I had no expectation of going to the Olympics. I’d never really thought about it or thought about what I needed to do to qualify,” he said. “I just thought about jumping, and that worked out for me. I’m sticking to that plan and focusing on what I know how to do and what I can control.”
Caldwell, a two-time Olympian already, has been on the podium once already this season. A top-three finish this week would guarantee her a trip to her third Olympic Games.
“Deer Valley is by far the best event we have every year on the World Cup circuit,” she said. “We have a lot of support here, and that atmosophere is what we call a home-field advantage. Everyone is supporting you and rooting for you.”
Freestyle World Cup<br>•At Deer Valley<br>•Wednesday-Friday<br>•TV • NBC Sports
Wednesday’s schedule<br>• 2:10 p.m. — Women’s mogul qualification<br>• 4:45 p.m. — Men’s mogul qualification<br>• 7 p.m. — Women’s and men’s mogul finals
