YOUR AD HERE »

Edwards moguls skier Tess Johnson finishes 12th in Olympics

Ed Stoner
estoner@swiftcom.com
Tess Johnson competes in the second qualification run Sunday, Feb. 11, during the Winter Olympics at Bokwang Phoenix Park in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Joel Reichenberger | Steamboat Pilot and Today |

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Tess Johnson skied two really good runs Sunday.

Actually two and a half.

But with a bobble on the landing of her second jump in the second final, Johnson’s 2018 Winter Olympics came to an end.



The 17-year-old Edwards mogul skier landed off-balance, raising her right ski, and giving her a 12th-place finish in her Olympic debut.

“I had a lot of fun out there today, and although I’m fairly disappointed with my mistake on the bottom, I still had an amazing time,” she said.



The finals took place under the lights, in light snow and bitter cold at Bokwang Phoenix Park.

Johnson still had to qualify for the finals after finishing a disappointing 22nd out of 30 during the first round of qualification on Friday.

She easily did that Sunday, finishing with the best score of 20 skiers in the second round of qualification.

“That was probably the best moment of the day just to feel that redemption from two days ago and kind of tackle that demon,” she said.

The Americans came into the finals with four of the 20 competitors, but at the end of the night, none of them finished in the top six.

Jaelin Kauf was seventh, Keaton McCargo was eighth, Johnson was 12th and Morgan Schild 15th.

“I think we had the potential for any of us to be podium tonight, and we all just made little mistakes that cost us, and that’s super frustrating,” McCargo said.

The team is young — McCargo is the oldest of the four women at 22 — so they will have opportunities to improve over the next four years.

“I fully expect all of us to continue working and pushing to meet our goals in 2022,” Johnson said.

Johnson will stick around for the remainder of the Olympics. She wants to attend as many events as possible, including the snowboard halfpipe.

From walking in the opening ceremonies to competing in front of huge crowds, Johnson said the experience was amazing.

“One that I will never forget,” she said.


Support Local Journalism

 

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.