Seventeen year-old US skier Avery Krumme did everything she could to make it to her first Winter Olympics. Even if that meant switching her sporting nationality from Canada to the United States. Things looked hopeful until her first two runs of the Olympic free ski slopestyle final. But less than five seconds into the third round, Krumme’s medal hopes plummeted.

Krumme had fought her way through the preliminary rounds. She scored 52.40 on her first run, which placed her seventh and slipped further below to the eighth spot in round 2. All hopes were now pinned on the third and final round, but as soon as she hit the first rail in her third run, Krumme slipped off and crash landed.

Although Krumme regained country shortly after, the fall put her at an immediate disadvantage.

She lost a ski as it came off after the fall and brought her third and final run to an abrupt end. Sure, the crowd cheered her courage and effort, but she eventually finished 11th.

Meanwhile, her fellow performers executed a flawless finish and ended the day on a good note.

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The other medals went to athletes: Mathilde Gremaud (gold) of Switzerland who delivered a flawless and technically strong run, while silver went to Eileen Gu of China and Bronze was claimed by Canada’s Megan Oldham.

Despite her loss, Krumme spoke about her Olympic debut optimistically, “Competing with the best women in the world is an honor and I’m so grateful to be here.”

Krumme may have fallen short today, but her crash did not erase the successes she has already acquired in the past.

Avery Krumme turned challenges into medals

Avery Krumme grew up in Squamish, British Columbia, and started skiing almost as soon as she could walk. She was instinctively tricky and would spin in any direction with ease even at a tender age. Her talent made her climb the junior ladder very fast.

Krumme was often complimented by the coaches about her composure on the skis and her passion to learn more difficult and risky tricks. But around age 15 Avery faced a challenge that would test her resilience.

In 2022-23, she suffered two broken collarbones and was forced to spend her entire year off competition. To any aspiring young sports star, it can be devastating to lose an entire season.  But not for Avery, she used that time to concentrate on self-development.

“I was just motivated by my love of the sport: getting back out there, pushing my limits and being better than I was before,” Avery Krumme said. She added weight training to her routine and worked with her coaches to stay disciplined in rehab. Her father, Ray, stood by her through this period and talked about how determined she was to come back stronger.

When Avery Krumme came back to competition, she not only took part…but she glowed. At the 2024 FIS Junior World Championships, she became the first woman to win slopestyle, earning her a bronze medal. She won two golds at the 2024 Canadian Nationals in Whistler in slopestyle and big air and she won several podiums in NorAm Cup.

In it all, Avery managed to juggle school and skiing, becoming even more consistent and demonstrating that adversity had only made her stronger.