Grete grew up racing, but since her debut in freeskiing, the competition scene hasn’t been the same. She was the only woman to medal in both the first X Games halfpipe and slopestyle events. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom/Alexis Boichard)
U.S. Freeskiing double-threat Devin Logan mathematically clinched her spot on the first-ever U.S. Olympic team for slopestyle skiing Friday with her impressive victory at the Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix.
The nation’s leading freeskiing athletes continue the battle for Olympic team spots Jan. 8-12 when the Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix presented by The North Face heads to Breckenridge for the third of five Olympic qualification events.
Rookie Darian Stevens took second and the top U.S. spot at Saturday’s slopestyle final while Grete Eliassen came in third at the Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix presented by The North Face. Dara Howell of Canada won the women’s FIS World Cup event.
The Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships returns to Breckenridge, CO on December 12-15 and serves as the first official U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association Olympic team selection event of the 2013-2014 season.
The Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships returns to Breckenridge, CO on December 12-15 and serves as the first official U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association Olympic team selection event of the 2013-2014 season.
USSA athletes Grete Eliassen and Billy Demong were featured speakers at this year's USANA Convention. (Photo: Riley Steinmetz/USSA)
Tom Wallisch stole gold in his first ever FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships Saturday.
Freeskiing Team Announced
U.S. Freeskiing named its inaugural slopestyle team after the IOC accepted the event for the 2014 Olympics this past February.
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Grete Eliassen Quick Facts
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With a mother from the Midwest and a father from Norway, Eliassen grew up speaking both English and Norwegian. At the age of two she found the excitement of her life in skiing, and once she took to freeskiing she didn’t looked back. Since her debut, Eliassen has won the U.S. Open four times as well as captured two gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the Winter X Games. She is the only female skier to have medaled in both the first halfpipe and slopestyle X Games events. From the fall of 2008 to the spring of 2010, Eliassen teamed up with Red Bull to complete an ambitious film project entitled “Say My Name." In April 2010, mid-project, she achieved the Hip Jump World Record. Reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour, she hit the custom 30-foot “hip” feature and soared more than 31 feet in the air. No other woman has come close to reaching that height on skis. Suffering a knee injury in early 2012, she spent the season rehabbing, getting strong and looking forward to the next competition season. After taking good care of her knee through extensive rehab and cross training, Eliassen was ready to take to the snow again. She was able to take home bronze at FIS World Championships in Voss, Norway, like she did in 2005, except this time she did it in her chosen discipline of slopestyle. With an impressive bag of tricks, it’s safe to say Eliassen is back and looking for action. GRETE SAYS FIRST TRACKS At 13, her family moved back to Norway—this time, to Lillehammer. Having already begun her skiing career in Minnesota, she decided to continue it in Norway. After only a year, Eliassen was named the Norwegian slalom National Champion and joined the Norwegian Ski Team. She then won the super G at Junior Worlds in France and placed third in slalom at the European Junior Olympics in Slovenia. After a few more years of competition, she realized that alpine racing was not her type of skiing. Even though her career in racing was promising—she positioned herself at the top of her age group in nearly every event—she had a longing to be free. The world of freeskiing hasn't been the same since. OFF THE SNOW |
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