Local skiers set sights on 2014 Winter Games

Two on the cusp of Olympic glory

With the 2014 Winter Olympics just three months away, local athletes David Chodounsky and Aaron Blunck are both in prime positions for making the U.S. Ski Team headed to Sochi, Russia February 7-23.
Chodounsky started ski racing at age seven at Buck Hill in Minnesota and recalls his first Olympic moment that stirred the ski racing fire.
“I remember clearly watching the Olympics in ‘92,” says Chodounsky. “I was in awe.”
His family eventually moved to Crested Butte, where he raced for the Crested Butte Ski Club and finished his high school ski-racing career at the Crested Butte Academy. Chodounsky postponed his Olympic dream to get an education and went on to a very successful collegiate ski-racing career at Dartmouth, including a national slalom title.
Upon graduating, he returned to his dream and entered the U.S. Ski Team fray four years ago, qualifying for the B team and paying his own way around the world to compete. He got close to making the Olympics back in 2010.
“There was one spot and a bunch of us battling for that spot, but it didn’t go that well for me,” says Chodounsky. “I knew it was a long shot but it was cool that I even had a chance to make it.”
He has been on the cusp of making the A team the past three years but it wasn’t until last May that he got the call-up after a phenomenal season of racing on the World Cup circuit.
Chodounsky posted his best World Cup results to date last year with a 10th in Adelboden, 15th in Val d’Isere and 18th in Zagreb, not to mention a couple of results in the 20s and finished the season ranked 21st in the world.
“Last season was my best season by far,” says Chodounsky.
Chodounsky struggled at the close of the season but his overall ranking factored in his favor and in May he was named to the U.S. Ski Team A squad.
“I knew at the end of the year it was going to happen but it was still super cool, especially going into an Olympic year,” says Chodounsky.
Chodounsky put together a successful series of races in New Zealand in August, got additional training in Chile in September and is feeling on top of his game.
“I’m skiing really consistently at a high speed,” says Chodounsky. I feel really good, really fast.”
While he is a member of the A team, he is by no means a shoo-in for the Winter Olympic Games. To secure his spot on the U.S. team headed to Sochi, Chodounsky needs to continue putting up consistently strong results on the World Cup circuit, which starts for him in Levi, Finland on November 17.
“They make the selection a month out from the Olympics, which is pretty nerve-racking,” says Chodounsky. “You have to do well, but it’s looking good. I’m just going one race at a time. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself.”
Blunck had a breakout season last winter as well. Raised in Crested Butte, Blunck soon proved his prowess in the halfpipe at an early age, dominating the USASA events, a feeder program to bigger and better things.
Three years ago, Blunck realized if he wanted to progress in halfpipe skiing, a sport that seems to progress at the speed of light, he needed to commit as much time as possible to it. Therefore, he transferred to the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy, where he could continue his high school education while getting the time, facilities and support to train.
The move has paid off as Blunck proceeded to climb the halfpipe ranks, culminating last year when he placed second at the VISA U.S. Grand Prix ski halfpipe at Copper Mountain in January. The result led to an invitation to compete on halfpipe skiing’s biggest stage, the Winter X Games in Aspen last winter. He finished the season with a series of solid results and is currently ranked fifth in the Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) standings and fourth in the Internationale Federation du Ski (FIS) standings.
“My season last year was insane,” says Blunck. “It was the best year I’ve ever had on skis. My results came out really well with two huge podiums but also the way I felt while skiing. I had a confidence level I’ve never had before.”
Now, he’s on the cusp of stepping onto the biggest stage in sports worldwide, the Olympic Games.
Blunck is currently on the U.S. Halfpipe Ski Team and is coming off a successful summer, blending workouts with the U.S. Ski Team and competing in the southern hemisphere.
He kicked off the 2013-2014 World Cup circuit with a bang, placing second at a World Cup halfpipe event in New Zealand.
“I couldn’t have had a better start,” says Blunck.
Since then, Blunck has been going through continued dry land training, catching up on school work. He returned to the snow this past week after a break.
Much like with Chodounsky, Blunck still has more work to do before he gets the call to compete in Sochi. The U.S. Ski Team is scheduled to make their final decision the second week in January.
“It’s a pretty confusing process,” says Blunck. “I’m just trying to ski and not worry about it.”
Blunck has a full plate of events ahead of him, starting with a North Face Park and Pipe competition to get his competitive blood flowing again. Then he jumps in full-bore with a Dew Tour competition in the second week of December, followed by a slew of World Cup tour stops. If he continues to post top results, Blunck should get the call.
“It’s going to take a lot of mental strength, a lot of physical strength and skiing well,” says Blunck. “I am feeling better than ever before. It should be exciting.”