Winning Mixed Team Aerials Gold, Caldwell, Lillis and Schoenfield Make Olympic History

Caldwell, Lillis and Schoenfield Become the First Trio to Win a Mixed Team Aerials Olympic Gold

© US Ski & Snowboard Team via NBC Olympics. From left to right: Ashley Caldwell, Christopher Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld

On Thursday February 10, Ashley Caldwell, Justin Schoenfeld and Chris Lillis became the first trio to win the Mixed Team Aerials event, securing Olympic Gold, upsetting China for first place and setting a new precedent in the process. The new competition made its debut as an Olympics event in 2022 after being on the World Cup circuit.

Winning this competitive event requires individual mastery as each athlete competes to the maximum level of difficulty. The mixed team aerials event consists of three athletes — either two men and a woman or two women and a man (limitation of no more than two competitors per gender) that each take a jump to produce a cumulative score. The competition consists of two rounds called ‘Finals’ where the format is repeated to figure out a winner and starts out with a woman and ends with a man. Aerialist performance is measured on three components for a final score, which includes:

• 20 percent air (takeoff, distance and height)
• 50 percent form (body position, separation)
• 30 percent landing

With an almost perfect quintuple twisting triple, Lillis brought in 135 points, landing him silver after Caldwell’s ski jump had scored 88.89 points. Lillis’s score was the highest at the event. A strong jump from Schoenfeld — something he did every day in training — would take them to the podium first place. Aiming to keep calm and just get it done, Schoenfeld did his part, securing Olympic Gold — the first for the US aerials team since 2010.

© U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team, Photo of Chris Lillis

This medal is a first for Ashley Caldwell at her fourth Olympics event and the first time an American aerialist has won an Olympic medal since 1998 when Nikki Stone took one home. It is also the first time both Lillis and Schoenfeld have competed at the Olympics. Caldwell first appeared at the Olympics in 2010 as a 16-year-old in Vancouver, B.C. The medal is the first time the US team has taken home a prize in freestyle skiing since 2010.

“I’ve been in the hunt for a gold medal my entire career.”

— Ashley Caldwell, now 28-year-old Mixed Teams Aerial Gold Medalist

All Park City, Utah natives, the trio were coached by prior Gold medalist Eric Bergoust. A University of Utah student hailing from Virginia, Caldwell trained for 11 years a a gymnast before starting aerials. Aerials involve flips and twists very similar to gymnastics after launching up three stories into the air. Hailing from Indiana, Schoenfield attends Utah Valley University. Following in the footsteps of his brother Jon who competed at the aerials in PyeongChang, Lillis hails from Pittsford, New York. Throwing down quintuple twisting triples has been a three-year process for the trio.

“I was just happy to get the opportunity to throw one and to put it down.”

— Christopher Lillis, Mixed Teams Aerial Gold Medalist

The win follows Chloe Kim’s haul of two Olympic Gold medals in snowboarding. See the results at the 2022 Olympics.

View more at the US Ski and Snowboard Team’s website.

Chloe Kim Makes History, Winning Back to Back Gold Medals in Snowboard Half-Pipe

Winning gold in snowboard halfpipe, Chloe Kim made history, as the first woman to take back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the category. Watch her first ride on YouTube via NBC Olympics. The only American to make it to Thursday’s final, 21-year-old Chloe Kim won with her first run at 94 points, which was an entire four points higher than the rest of the pack. Spain's Queralt Castellet, came in at second with a silver medal, followed by Sena Tomita of Japan with a bronze.

“I was dealing with all sorts of emotions [before the contest], but I reminded myself I just have to land one run, and I was so happy to do that.”

— Chloe Kim talking with NBC after the event

After her outstanding performance in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018, Kim faced pressure to repeat her win. She fell during her qualifiers uncharacteristically due to nerves, but pulled herself together to land the best run, atop the field.

During the event, in her first run, Kim went high above the pipe, landing several technical tricks such as a switch 900 and a backside 540 while bookmarking her opening run with 1080s and scoring a solid and unbeatable 94 on the board. After the run, Kim was awash with emotions, dropping to her knees, crying and laughing. When the score posted to the board, she got up and began to walk around, hugging people.

All 12 women competed at their best, showing progressions and 1080s unlike any prior Olympic halfpipe events, but none could hold a torch to Kim’s first run.

In 2018, Kim, the daughter of South Korean immigrants, won gold in South Korea. Her talent was unmistakable. At the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Kim was considered too young to compete as a 13-year-old, but her results would have qualified for the team. She was already competing professionally by then. She went on to make her Olympic debut at 17 years of age, landing a run that was more progressive than any woman had ever done in half pipe snowboarding before. While still in high school, Kim also became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboard gold medal since 1998 when snowboarding became an Olympic sport.

Fast forward to today and Kim is riding at a level unmatched by any other woman and more motivated by becoming her best and pushing the sport forward, than winning contests alone. View our Profile post of lessons learned from Olympic athletes in 2018.

View her results in Women’s Halfpipe.

Kim’s first gold medal won in snowboarding events for the United States came hot on the heels of Julia Marino’s surprise silver medal in slopestyle snowboarding.

© US Ski & Snowboard Team via NBC Olympics

Julia Marino Wins 1st US Medal at Beijing Olympics

Bagging Silver in Slopestyle Snowboard, Julia Marino Wins first US medal at 2022 Olympics

Julia Marino Wins Silver in Slopestyle Snowboard Photo via NBC Sports

Watch on YouTube via NBC Sports.

Julia Marino of Westport, Connecticut, landed the first medal for the U.S. ski and snowboard team, winning a silver in the slopestyle snowboard. A seven-time X Games medalist, Julia participated in the 2018 Olympics previously, placing 11th. This is her first Olympic medal. She put down an almost perfect run.

At 18, she became the first woman to land a double in slopestyle, doing two in the same run no less — a Cab double underflip and double backflip. Her win this Sunday was tremendous and where it mattered most.

With calm winds but subzero conditions, the setting at Genting Snowpark in Beijing, China for the Olympics showdown has been definitely cold. Nonetheless for an East coast rider used to cold conditions, Marino held out. Nervous during her first run, Marino came back around on the second run with a half-Cab to backside 360 out on the flat rail, a lipslide pretzel on the down rail, a switch boardslide underflip out on the cannon rail followed by solid jumps that included a backside 900 melon, Cab double 900 Indy and a final frontside 1080 mute, scoring a strong finish of 87.68.

Zoe Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand bested Marino out of gold with her third run at 92.88 and Tess Coady of Australian came in at third with 84.15. Despite taking second place, Marino did not display any disappointment and ran out to congratulate Zoe and celebrate, showing both graciousness and sportsmanship.

“I did my best that I could do, and I couldn’t be happier with that, and she did the best she could do, and I’m so happy for her.”

— Julia Marino, slopestyle snowboarder and silver medalist

Marino surpassed both defending gold U.S. medalist Jamie Anderson who came in at 8th place as well as favorite, Hailey Langland, who landed at 11th place.

View results of Women’s Slopestyle finals.

www.usskiandsnowboard.org