Cole McDonald (born March 6, 2003) is an American freestyle skier. He joined the US Ski & Snowboard's U.S. Freestyle Ski Team (Development Team) in July 2021.[1] In the same season as his first World Cup, he earned a spot on the U.S. Men's Moguls Team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, making him the youngest American male mogul skier to participate in the Olympics at 18 years of age.[2] McDonald was named World Cup Rookie of the Year in 2022.[3]

Cole McDonald
McDonald in 2021
Personal information
BornMarch 6, 2003
Salt Lake City, Utah
OccupationAlpine skier
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Skiing career
DisciplinesFreestyle skiing, Moguls
ClubWasatch Freestyle
World Cup debutRuka, Finland, December 4, 2021 (5th place; age 18)
Olympics
Teams1 (2022)
World Cup
Seasons1

Career

Early years

McDonald was introduced to mogul skiing in his hometown of Park City, Utah when he joined Wasatch Freestyle at the age of seven. "When I'm not skiing moguls, I'm skiing moguls in my head," he said in a video from Wasatch Freestyle.[4] He quickly took to the sport and ramped up accolades over the years.

Before making the U.S. Ski Team, some of the more recent accolades include a third-place finish at the 2021 U.S. Freestyle Moguls National Championships at Snowbird, Utah; second place at the 2020 NorAm Cup at Val St-Come in Canada; third place finish at Calgary, Canada, at the 2020 NorAm Cup; and first place in Singles at the 2020 U.S. Jr Nationals at Winter Park, Colorado.

Thus far, he has accumulated nineteen Top 10 finishes and five FIS podiums,[5] including his best World Cup finish: 4th place in dual moguls at Alpe d'Huez in 2021.[6]

McDonald was selected to forerun the FIS World Cup at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah—his hometown—from 2017-2021. On January 13–14, 2022, McDonald returned as a competitor in the World Cup circuit.[7]

Growing up, he pored over videos of the most talented mogul skiers, such as Canadians Mikael Kingsbury and Alexandre Bilodeau, to help inform his own technique and Olympic dreams.[8]

McDonald graduated from The Winter Sports School in 2020. The following year, on July 16, 2021, McDonald was named to the U.S. Freestyle Mogul Ski Team's Development Team (D Team), the first of its kind. McDonald's nomination for the team was based on his 11th FIS points list of the 2021 season for FIS junior age-eligible athletes.[1]

World Cup debut

McDonald earned first place at the FIS open mogul competition at Idre Fjall in Sweden on November 21, 2021, which extended him his first World Cup start. It was a historic event with a "record-breaking number of participants," according to the International Ski Federation (FIS).[9]

In December 2021, he made his official World Cup debut at Ruka, Finland as the youngest competitor, leading the United States with a fifth-place finish. Throughout the World Cup circuit, announcers labeled McDonald as a "youngster"[10] and "unheralded." Mogul skier and 2014 Winter Olympian Ludvig Fjällströ also described McDonald as a "tall American" after his first-place finish at Idre.[11]

McDonald bested his Ruka opening at Alpe D'Huez in France on December 18, 2021. He ranked 4th place in dual moguls and competed directly with top-ranked mogul skiers, including Kingsbury and Ikuma Horishima of Japan—the latter with whom he dueled in the small finals. He came in fourth behind Kingsbury, Water Wallberg of Sweden, and Horishima, respectively.[6]

McDonald's top finishes in the five World Cup starts earned him a spot on the 2022 Winter Olympic Team.

McDonald received the FIS World Cup Rookie of The Year award for the 2021/2022 season.[3] The US Freestyle Dual Moguls Team also took home the overall Nations Cup.[12] McDonald rounded out the season with a first place men's moguls finish at the FIS Freestyle Junior World Championships at Chiesa in Valmalenco.[13]

2022 Winter Olympics

After a solid first World Cup season, McDonald secured his spot on Team USA headed for the 2022 Beijing Olympics. At 18 years old, McDonald is the youngest American male mogul skier to attend the Olympics. McDonald's accelerated success and good fortune spanned over the course of just 185 days. He was named onto the US Freestyle Ski Development Team on July 16, 2021, and then made the U.S. Team for the 2022 Olympic Games on January 17, 2022, after receiving a phone call from his coach. The formal announcement was made on January 21, 2022.[2] At the start of the 2021/2022 season, McDonald was ranked 64th in the world by the FIS Committee. He was ranked 11th when he was appointed to Team USA. Bradley Wilson (now three-time Olympian: 2014, 2018, and 2022), Nick Page, and Dylan Walczyk joined McDonald in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

This rise to the global spotlight is akin to freestyle skier Bryon Wilson's journey. Wilson had a strong start at the World Cup in 2010 with two second-place finishes before being named to the US team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver; he earned a bronze medal.[14]

McDonald made his Olympic debut on February 3, 2022, at the first Men's Moguls Qualification round.[15] He placed fifth out with a score of 76.27, which secured him in the finals.[16] He placed highest among the US men's team in his first event.[17]

McDonald finished 14th overall.

Personal life

McDonald is of Vietnamese descent through his mother.[18]

Results

World Cup Results (2021/2022)
Date Location Category Discipline FIS Points Cup Points Final Position
04-12-2021 Ruka, FIN Open Moguls 450.00 45.00 5
10-12-2021 Idre Fjall, SWE Qualification Moguls - - 48
11-12-2021 Idre Fjall, SWE World Cup Moguls 16.10 - 48
12-12-2021 Idre Fjall, SWE World Cup Dual Moguls 110.00 11.00 20
16-12-2021 Alpe D'Huez, FRA Qualification Moguls 8
17-12-2021 Alpe D'Huez, FRA World Cup Moguls 150.00 15.00 16
18-12-2021 Alpe D'Huez, FRA World Cup Dual Moguls 500.00 50.00 4
07-01-2022 Mont Tremblant, CAN World Cup Moguls 150.00 15.00 16
08-01-2022 Mont Tremblant, CAN World Cup Moguls 100.00 10.00 21
13-01-2022 Deer Valley, UT USA World Cup Moguls 180.00 18.00 14
14-01-2022 Deer Valley, UT USA World Cup Moguls 160.00 16.00 15
12-03-2022 Chiesa in Valmalenco, ITA World Cup Dual Moguls 400.00 40.00 6
18-03-2022 Megève, FRA World Cup Moguls 200.00 20.00 13
19-03-2022 Megève, FRA World Cup Dual Moguls 32.00 8
Top 10 Finishes
Date Location Event Discipline Result
28-03-2022 Chiesa in Valmalenco, ITA FIS Junior World Ski Championships Dual Moguls 5
25-03-2022 Chiesa in Valmalenco, ITA FIS Junior World Ski Championships Moguls 1
19-03-2022 Megève, FRA World Cup Dual Moguls 8
12-03-2022 Chiesa in Valmalenco, ITA World Cup Dual Moguls 6
03-02-2022 Beijing, CHN Olympic Qualification Moguls 5
18-12-2021 Alpe d'Huez FRA World Cup Dual Moguls 4
16-12-2021 Alpe d'Huez FRA Qualification Moguls 8
04-12-2021 Ruka FIN World Cup Moguls 5
21-11-2021 Idre Fjall SWE Open Moguls 1
20-11-2021 Idre Fjall SWE Open Moguls 5
26-03-2021 Snowbird Ski, UT USA National Championships Dual Moguls 3
10-02-2021 Deer Valley Resort, UT USA Open Moguls 2
28-01-2021 Winter Park Resort, CO USA FIS Moguls 5
27-01-2021 Winter Park Resort, CO USA FIS Moguls 10
01-03-2020 Val St-Come, QC CAN Nor-Am Dual Moguls 2
23-02-2020 Calgary, AB CAN Nor-Am Dual Moguls 3
22-02-2020 Calgary, AB CAN Nor-Am Moguls 8
12-01-2020 Steamboat Ski, CO USA Open Dual Moguls 9
11-01-2020 Steamboat Ski, CO USA Open Moguls 5
17-03-2019 Waterville Valley Resort, VT USA National Championships Dual Moguls 9
16-03-2019 Waterville Valley Resort, VT USA National Championships Moguls 8
03-03-2019 Apex Mountain, BC CAN Nor-Am Cup Dual Moguls 7
24-02-2019 Steamboat Ski, CO USA Nor-Am Cup Dual Moguls 7
03-02-2019 Stratton Mountain, VT USA Nor-Am Cup Dual Moguls 9

References

  1. 1 2 Carlton, Laura (July 16, 2021). "U.S. Ski & Snowboard Pilots Freestyle Mogul Development Team". US Ski and Snowboard. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "U.S. Ski & Snowboard Nominates Freeski Team Roster For Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022". US Ski & Snowboard. January 21, 2022. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Laffont and Kingsbury take wins and moguls titles in Megeve". www.fis-ski.com. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  4. ↑ Wasatch Freestyle, Burke Adler (March 21, 2012). "The Start". Vimeo. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  5. ↑ "MCDONALD Cole - Athlete Information". www.fis-ski.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "World Cup Alpe d'Huez (FRA)". www.fis-ski.com. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  7. ↑ Roepke, Michele (January 14, 2022). "Japan wins Mens and Womens Moguls at Deer Valley World Cup". TownLift. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  8. ↑ Farrell, Brandon (January 12, 2022). "Park City's Cole McDonald's 'miracle' run pushes him into World Cup spotlight". ParkRecord.com. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  9. ↑ "FIS Open moguls event goes down in Idre". FIS. November 23, 2021. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  10. ↑ U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team. "Cole McDonald 5th in Ruka, Finland". Facebook. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  11. ↑ Cole McDonald Moguls Wins 1st place at Puckelpist FIS Open Idrefjäll November 19 & 20, 2021 HD 72, retrieved January 19, 2022
  12. ↑ "U.S. 3-4 in Dual Moguls World Cup Finals, Wins Nations Cup". U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Chiesa in Valmalenco 2022 Freestyle Junior World Championships Results". www.fis-ski.com. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Bryon Wilson". my.usskiandsnowboard.org. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  15. ↑ Mikael Kingsbury tops first round of men's moguls qualifying | Winter Olympics 2022 | NBC Sports, retrieved February 4, 2022
  16. ↑ "Qualification Beijing (CHN)". www.fis-ski.com. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Five Athletes Qualify For Moguls Final". U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  18. ↑ Weaver, Evan. "Lakeland grad's son competing in Winter Olympics". KPCNews.
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