Colby Stevenson overcame a lot of obstacles on his way to Olympic glory. On Wednesday, Stevenson, at the age of 24, earned silver for the United States in the men’s freestyle skiing large air competition at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
While driving down an Idaho highway in May of 2016, he fell asleep at the wheel and nearly caused a fatal accident, sustaining more than 30 fractures to his head.
Freeskier Colby Stevenson Talks Winning Winning Silver Medal After
For three days, he would be put into a coma for his own safety. He shared his insights with TODAY on Wednesday, saying, “Recovery’s just a long road and you just need to take it day by day and you learn to be appreciative for the simple things in life.” We are incredibly fortunate to be able to do things like take a shower, go on a hike, and exist on this planet.
After falling on his first run in the large air men’s freeskiing final, American Colby Stevenson came back with two monster performances to win silver.
Stevenson’s last jump, a switch left double cork 1800 (two off-axis flips while completing five full rotations in the air), propelled him into medal position, second only to Norway’s Birk Ruud, who ultimately took home the gold.
Even though Stevenson achieved a total of 183.00 in a competition where only the two greatest jumps out of three are counted, he still had to hold off seven other skiers who had a chance to overtake him.
None of them did in the end as Stevenson, who is better known for his slopestyle skills, finished on the podium at a major big air competition for the first time.
He declared, “I’m completely floating on air.” “Not yet, anyway. Honestly, it’s a marvel that I’m even here on the podium today.”
A miracle on multiple fronts. During a late-night drive in Idaho in May of 2016, Stevenson momentarily dozed off behind the wheel. The ensuing collision resulted in several injuries, including a fractured skull and brain swelling within a millimetre of irreparable damage, due to trauma.
He was only 18 years old and there was no promise that he would ever be able to ski or even live normally again. Scars from the accident remain, but he accepts them as a necessary part of his path to champion status.
Colby Stevenson, a Park City native and graduate of Westminster College, won silver in the men’s big air skiing competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Silver medalist Colby Stevenson finished only four points behind gold medalist Birk Ruud of Norway. Sweden’s Henrik Harlaut came in third, earning himself a bronze medal. Alex Hall, a graduate of the University of Utah, came in ninth.
After scoring a 34.75 on his first run, Stevenson upped the heat on his second by pulling off a tough trick that earned him a 91.75. His final score in his third round was a 91.25, giving him an overall score of 183.00.
Final Words
Hall’s first run was scored at 68.25, but his second run was much better at 92.50. Hall’s score suffered after he slipped and fell on his third attempt. With a score of 27, he finished with 160.75 points.
