BEIJING – American Colby Stevenson took home a surprise silver medal in the big air men’s freeskiing final, putting down two monster runs after crashing on his first attempt.
Stevenson’s impressive switch left 1800 on his last jump – five full rotations in the air – launched him into medal position behind only Norway’s Birk Ruud, who ended up with the gold medal. But Stevenson, who posted a combined 183.00 in an event where the two best jumps out of three are scored, still had to survive seven skiers with an opportunity to pass him.
In the end, none of them did as Stevenson – known more for his slopestyle prowess – made his first-ever podium in a significant big air competition.
“I’m totally on a cloud,” he said. “It hasn’t quite set in yet. It’s a miracle I ended up on the podium today honestly.”
A miracle in more ways than one. In May of 2016, Stevenson was driving late at night in Idaho when he just briefly fell asleep at the wheel. The resulting crash caused numerous injuries including a skull that cracked into 48 pieces and trauma to his brain that caused it to swell within a millimeter of permanent damage.
Just 18 at the time, there was no guarantee he would be able to resume a normal life, much less ski again. He still has visible scars from the accident, but he now views them as part of the journey he had to make to become a champion.
“I’ve been saying it lately, your character is really defined in those tougher times in your life,”…
